


Wouldn't have it any other way

by Pluh



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Angst and Romance, F/F, Post-Nuclear War, Survival
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-07
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 20:10:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 60,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5640355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pluh/pseuds/Pluh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a story about Nora, the lone Vault 111 survivor, and Piper the Diamomd City reporter and how they meet, fall in love, and try to rebuild the Commonwealth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "I am become death, the destoryer of worlds" J. Robert Oppenheimer

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to thank all of those who took the time to read my Fallout 4 story. The game has to be one of the most in depth, exciting and addicting games I've ever played, and even though it doesn't need one, I wanted to write a story about my play through and I hope you enjoy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the year 2287 the world we live in continues to try and rebuild from the "Great war" more than two hundred years after the first nuclear bombs were deployed. There are many people from many different factions trying to create what they believe to be the best future possible, but not everyone agrees with how things should be. There are those who want to live peacefully while some think a forceful military approach is the best way to restore order. Some even believe a version of utopia can be achieved as long as people are willing to conform, but not everyone can be correct. There is one woman however, who has just woken up after more than two hundred years of being in a vault and she has an idea of how the future should look. She will meet many who are willing to help her on her journey and form unbreakable bonds with them along the way. And in the end they will only allow a future of any kind to happen after she finds out the truth about her missing child and murdered husband, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

**March 5, 2288**

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

_Piper,_

_Those are some of the first words you ever said to me. More importantly, they are the first words I paid attention to after I woke up to this nightmare that is my life, or I should say our life. Yet that simple phrase, just like you, means more to me then I can ever express, and I need you to know that I never thought I'd find happiness until I met you. In the beginning, when I crawled out of that vault all I wanted to do was destroy the entire commonwealth until I found out what happened. I met Preston and all of the others helped me try to understand what had happened, but I didn't care what they had to say because no one seemed to listen about Shaun, and Nate, but you did. It may have started off as you wanting a story to print, but I could tell after our first conversation that I became more to you then just words on paper, just like you became more to me than just a reporter trying to get the truth. It is part of the reason why I am writing this.You've been there for me when I needed you the most and supported me along the way while we trekked across this wasteland trying to make it a better place to live. You've seen me at my worst and my best during my hunt for Shaun more so than anyone else yet you have never judged me. You put me back together after I got distracted and set off a bottle cap mine and stayed by my side through my entire recovery. I think that's when I realized my feelings for you were real, and I never wanted you away from me again._

_Truth be told that distraction was you, or at least a part of you. It's actually my favorite part of you, and why I always insisted that you walk in front of me on missions. Now I know you're blushing, and I hope I made you smile that beautiful smile just now. Just like I hope I can continue to see you smile for years to come. I said that you were perfect for me and I meant it even if it took me nearly losing a leg to realize it._

_This is why this is so hard for me to say to you in person, so instead I am writing this to tell you that I can only hope that if we do see each other again after this is all over, that it will be with my son, this letter won't have to be given to you, and we can be the family that we talked about. The problem is the more time that passes as I sit here trying to write this, the more my fears of having to stay behind to set off the nuke to end the control the Institute has over us becomes a reality. No one has told me otherwise and we are getting closer to finally ending this. I know this is me being a coward but I cannot face you knowing that I may hurt you even though you are stronger than anyone I've ever met. I know it doesn't make any sense and_ _I'm sorry, you deserve better, but I am more scared of you hating me and not coming with me than me making peace with the fact that I may not return and only get to spend a few moments with my son. You've changed my priorities of what I want but what I want doesn't matter if what we started isn't finished, so you must carry on. There are, and have been so many unknowns, but you have been the one stable thing in my life and I love you for it. So I'm asking you to be that same stable person now for Shaun and Nat, they are going to need it._

_Yours, always, Nora._

 

* * *

 

"Codsworth?" Nora calls for her longtime assistant with a shaky voice. Her vision blurs as tears form while she folds the note she just finished writing to her lover. She wants to throw it in the fire and think about the best possible outcome but her mind isn't cooperating.

"You called Mum?" The floating robot answers as he enters the sole survivor's bedroom, and moves next to her where she is sitting on the bed.

The 'Mister Handy' butler was the first thing she saw that wasn't mutated and didn't want to kill her when she left Vault 111 and has been by her side ever since. He tried to make it easier for Nora and console her when she spoke of her son's kidnapping and husbands murder and she has appreciated it. He did as much as he could for her and managed to help her more than most, and she needs him to do this one last thing for her.

"I need you to give this to Piper after this is all over with," Nora says while she hands the paper to Codsworth.

She looks up at the enormous teleportation device they have been constructing in order to reach this secret faction with disdain. This is the final quest to bring back her son and God help those that were apart of his abduction. Kellogg was just the beginning and even though she nearly lost all hope of ever finding Shaun after she killed him it was worth it. It may have been her addiction to psycho, or her dependence on alcohol but it felt good to track and kill the man that took Shaun and killed her husband; almost too good. But Nora knows that destroying the faction that did this to her must happen so another family will not have to deal with her pain. It is a pain that is deep within her sole and cannot be understood by anyone even though one person tries.

Piper Wright, the news reporter from Diamond City has been accompanying her on missions since finding out about Nora's story. Along the way, a relationship formed and now just the thought of her name brings a smile to Nora's face, a warm feeling in her heart, and tears to her eyes. Nora's emotions are all over the place and she has to keep them at bay before her lover returns from Diamond City, so they can have one last night together before their quest. Her lips curl up at the memories of how animated Piper can be when she gets excited or aggravated. How nervous and lost for words she is when Nora flirts with her or gives her a certain look. That smile is nearly erased when the thought of this being their last few moments together, and her never being able to see Piper again overtakes everything else.

"A private letter to Ms. Wright. I will guard it with my life." Codsworth's British accent breaks her out of her dark thoughts. He always has a way to ease the tension with some of his offhanded remarks, especially during battle, but not this time.

"Please make sure she gets it after she comes back, and not before." Nora insists even though she needs to be more specific on the timeframe.

"She will not receive it a moment sooner." He says with a little hint of sarcasm.

"Is everything okay?" He asks after "staring" at her for a moment.

"I'm alright, thank you." She says unconvincingly with a slight nod.

She opens the second bottle and takes a shot of Bourbon that she has become so dependent on in order to try and become numb. Enjoying the slight burn as it dulls her senses she takes another and can hear a sigh of contempt come from Codsworth. She knows she drinks too much, but drinking one bottle just doesn't work as well anymore.

"May I ask why you won't be able to give this to her?" He asks suspiciously. "Or is it a surprise?"

"It's a surprise." She says quickly and hopes he doesn't push anymore on the subject.

"Oh, how I do hope it is a proposal! You know how much I like to dress up proper and what better time than a wedding!"

"It's not, that." She says with a laugh. Her smile leaves her face altogether at the thought of never being able to spend the rest of her days with her son and the woman she loves.

"Not yet, anyway." The lone survivor of Vault 111 places the bottle on the table after taking one last swig. Tonight is important and she doesn't want to be inebriated, yet she can't allow her emotions to get the better of her and let slip what she just wrote, so slightly drunk will have to do; if there is such a thing.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asks again, before leaving the room. The concern in his voice is surprising but sincere.

"I am, I just cannot believe we've come this far and now it could be all over within a few hours." She lies about her actual thoughts and what may come, but it is still amazing to realize that she can be reunited with her son.

"Ah yes, we could be seeing young Shaun quite soon. I do hope he recognizes me." Codsworth's upbeat attitude and all around oddness cause a smile to form even if it is forced. The fact that her son will more than likely not recognize any of them since he was barely six months old the last time she saw him is always on her mind.

"I'm so excited I think I'll go get the polish ready. Do you think Mama Murphy will help polish my unreachables if I ask her?"

"She may, but only if you ask nicely enough," Nora says with a laugh. "Honestly Codsworth, I can't stop thinking about the journey we've been on and what it has taken to get to this point. I just wish Nate was here to see everything that we have done."

"As do I. His passing is still upsetting, but on a good note it has been an adventure." The robots demeanor changes from solemn to excited. "One that I've taken the liberty of recording what I can so that it may be shared with master Shaun. It is quite the story he will hear of his mother the hero."

Of course, he'd make it a point to say that again and make her feel worse. The word hero is not something she'd describe herself while thinking back to what she has done and been through. Lucky yes, but not a hero, and as she continues to prepare Piper's favorite meal, which is anything not radioactive, toxic, or something you don't need a Radaway after you eat, her thoughts go back to that fateful day in 2077 that would be the beginning of her story.

* * *

**October 23, 2077**

"Good morning! Vault-Tec calling!" Nora hears as she opens her front door.

The newly blessed mother feigns a smile as she realizes that they can no longer ignore the vault-tec representative. The man means well but it always sounds like he's trying to sell them something they already have.

"He's persistent I'll give him that." Her husband Nate says from the living room which causes her to turn her head towards him so she can silently chastise him for making her laugh in his face.

It is a gorgeous day and Nora wants to get this conversation over with so they can all go to the park and enjoy the afternoon. Considering the fact that the Vault-tec rep wants to be anywhere but here is a good sign that they will be able to do just that.

"I'm uh... In a bit of a rush." His demeanor changes with this sentence and Nora realizes she may have hit a nerve.

"Vault-Tec? Remind me again."

"Why we're about you, ma'am! And helping secure your future." He begins his sales pitch again, and she cannot understand why he is so rushed. Sure there is a war going on, but they haven't exactly dropped the bomb yet. 

"You see, Vault-Tec is the foremost builder of state-of-the-art underground fallout shelters." Nothing so heinous as Atomic warfare has happened yet, but just talking about it makes Nora want to hold her baby tighter.

"Vaults if you will." The Vault-Tec rep's voice brings her thoughts to the here and now and distracts her enough from leaving to get Shaun.

"Luxury accommodations, where you can wait out the horrors of nuclear devastation." He is making it sound so much worse than what the news is reporting and she can only pray that they won't have to use this offered sanctuary, and have enough room if they do.

"You can't begin to know how happy I am to finally speak with you. I've been trying for days. It's a matter of utmost urgency, I assure you." This causes Nora to turn to look for her husband for a different reason; she's now scared.

"What's so important?" She asks, hoping this man is only paranoid but it doesn't seem to be the case.

"Why nothing less than your entire future. If you hadn't noticed, ma'am, this country has gone to heck in a handbasket. If you'll excuse my language. The big kaboom...it's inevitable, I'm afraid. And coming sooner than you may think. If you catch my meaning" This gets her attention even more. How would a vault-tec rep know this?

The deliberate way he his saying all of this almost sounds like he has a gun to his head and speaking in code. She feels her husband's hand on her shoulder and begins to feel a little better but the concerned look on his face isn't helping matters at all now.

"Now I know you're a busy woman, so I won't take up much of your time. Time being a, um, precious commodity. I'm here today to tell you that because of your family's service to our country, you have been pre-selected for entrance into the local vault. Vault 111."

"Sounds great." She says impatiently. All Nora wants is to do is kiss her husband, run to her child, and leave for the Vault, now.

The rest of the conversation was a blur other than the rep mentioning total atomic annihilation again and asking for information the three of them that didn't seem necessary. It is unreal to think that atomic warfare is happening again, but this time it is on a grander scale and everyone's life is in danger. In what seems like seconds after she closes the door, the news announces an attack in New York and Pennsylvania, the feed cuts out and the next thing she knows she is running with her family for their lives to get into the vault. It is upsetting to think about all of those who did not make it to safety In time, and she says a silent prayer for them as she is being rushed through the place they are going to call home for the foreseeable future. They get to their destination and are ordered to put on a blue suit and climb into a decontamination chamber. Something feels off but no one questions since these people just saved their lives. Climbing into the pod she gives one last look to the two most important people in her life, tells them she loves them, and breaths a sigh of relief as the door to the pod closes and seals them all safely inside.

"I love you. Both of you!"

Within moments everything goes dark and she is soon asleep, and unfortunately for Nora, more than one hundred and fifty years will have passed before she wakes up to bear witness to one of the worst things imaginable. She hopes this is only a dream, but these images will haunt her thoughts while she slumbers until she finally wakes up to the horrifying truth. Her child is gone, ripped from his father's arms, and her husband is dead after he is shot and killed to protect him. Years later this will ultimately put her on the path to find the truth, and her son while becoming a hero to those she meets along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. "It worked!" J. Robert Oppenheimer

**March 5, 2288**

"Of course it fucking worked!" Nora says as she slams her fist on the table she is sitting at, causing the plates of each place settings to shake, and glasses of purified water and her whiskey to tip over.

The Quote; "It Worked!" from the lead physicist who headed up the Manhattan Project was said after the bomb was successfully tested, and it's now all Nora can think about. Even though she was a lawyer Nora had always been fascinated by history and always wished that people would follow the phrase; "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

"No truer words have ever been spoken," Nora says while looking out over the charred remains of the commonwealth. It's hard to believe that it only took a matter of two hours to annihilate the planet, and in turn force people to live in horrendous conditions for the rest of their days. 

Having time to think, the lone Vault 111 survivor has been going over the last few months in her mind and she eventually began to think about when this all started, and who was responsible. It was during the middle of the twentieth century during World War II when Humans were finding out just how creative we could be. But with more creation became more uncertainty amongst the different countries that were considered superpowers. Each country wanted to be the leader in technology and weapons, and as a result, the Manhattan Project was created because of how fearful the United States became due to their enemies creating and eventually using Nuclear weapons against them.

They felt that they could and should be the only nation to have such a weapon because _they_ could be responsible with this power, and it became the thought process of every American during that time, which was obviously delusional on their part. So they rounded up the best and the brightest and sat them in a room, telling them to build a bomb that could destroy everything in order to obtain peace. It resulted in the war ending after two atomic bombs were detonated and it showed the world the power that had been created. Well, that "responsibility" of creating that power showed other nations what real power was, and the "last resort" would eventually kill hundreds of millions of people a little more than a hundred years later during the "Great War," in the time it takes to make coffee, and read the paper. It devastated the planet and all of those that survived were left to deal with the fallout for generations to come. To live a life in constant fear from enemies, both Human and other, if you want to call this a life, that is now a daily routine. So yes their creation worked very well and the scars are there to prove it, but no we didn't learn from our past, so the creators of this finely constructed weapon and those that decided to use it can fuck off.

Nora scoffs at her thoughts as she stands, then downs the contents of her glass while she fixes the place settings. This needs to be perfect since this may be her and Piper's last night together. So much is unknown but she tries not to think about it as she finishes cleaning the table, and then moves to tend to the food. Instead, the lone survivor of Vault 111 tries to find the good that has come out of this. It has mainly been the people she has met and helped along the way. Just to see how happy she has made the settlers by giving them something so simple as a place to live is heartwarming. It took a while, and a few bouts of chem and alcohol addiction, but Nora has finally come to the realization that this is her life now and after tomorrow her previous one needs to be left behind her. Her search for her son has been never-ending, but Nora's outlook on everything changed after meeting Piper and forming a bond with the animated Diamond City reporter. Once they admitted how they felt about each other she began to look forward to the future, but now the future is looking bleak.

She stops for a moment as a wave of sadness washes over her while thoughts of everyone she has ever loved run through her mind. Nora walks out to the balcony of her newly constructed home and looks to the two areas that always bring back horrible memories. The first is of her old home that she now has a shelter next to and the next is the vault up on the hill that she crawled out of a short time ago. Wrapping her arms around herself Nora sighs a little. She hates the fact that they are so close and has been wanting to move since her life got a little bit of normal mixed into all of her kayos. They just got settled and the move makes no sense, but the memories are too fresh for her to stay here, but after today it may not matter.

Nora is not sure when she walked out of her new home, and into her old one, but she soon finds herself standing next to Shaun's crib. She hasn't been in his room since she first walked out of the vault and found Codsworth. The lone Vault one eleven survivors refused to step foot into her old home after that day until she knew that her son was alive and within her grasp, but even after she found proof of that fact she had no reason to come here. Finding her son was her one and only focus and she did not want to lose hope, but her focus changed as she found that no one in the commonwealth had hope. The more Nora helped, however, the more she found that people's outlook began to change for the better and it makes her want to continue to help but that may not be the case. It pisses her off to no end to think that after all of the good that she has done and all of the heartaches she has been through that her time may be at an end. She has never been one to be selfish but she deserves to be happy. She deserves to find her son, have a life with Piper, and the family that was taken away from her.

Nora is so caught up in her thoughts that she doesn't hear Piper walk into the room until the reporter clears her throat to get her attention.

"Hey, "Blue". Codsworth said you were over here." Piper says carefully. She has called her "Blue" since they met due to the vault jumpsuit she had worn, and the name just stuck.

"You...you okay?" She didn't want to startle her but could tell that her lover was deep in thought. More than likely she has been thinking about her son and what the future may hold, and as exciting as it is there is that worry that Shaun will not want anything to do with his mother.

Piper had just arrived back to Sanctuary after visiting her sister Nat in Diamond City and is looking forward to their night together. It is to be the first time in a long time where there wasn't a colony to help or mission to go on and the two were to be alone. Nora had been in a great mood before Piper left and it was infectious, to say the least. The two-hundred-year-old woman who looks surprisingly good for her age has always had a sad look to her like there was something missing. Soon Piper learned what that something was and has been trying to help Nora get her son back ever since, so to see her in a good mood warmed Piper's heart. Their relationship quickly turned into something more then friends and the Diamond City reporter wanted to see the rare and beautiful smile from Nora that shows itself every so often when she arrived back to their new home, but unfortunately now doesn't seem to be one of those times.

Piper barely sees the nod in reply to her question but takes the outstretched hand from her lover who is obviously upset about something. She doesn't ever remember Nora coming here before and the normally inquisitive Piper would have asked why, but she figures the crib was just a symbolic way to pray that she sees her son again, and she'd be right, and wrong.

"I'm okay now that you're here." Nora wipes the tears that have formed at the corner of her eyes. "How long have I been over here?" She asks after pulling the raven-haired reporter in for a hug.

"Uh, not too long I guess. Just got back myself and was looking forward to that meal you promised." Piper misses the closeness they share as well as being able to look into her lover's eyes. They are a lighter shade of blue that Piper has never seen before, and she has found herself on numerous occasions getting lost in them.

"Sorry, I began to think about tomorrow and seeing Shaun again and I guess I ended up at his crib finally, and..."

"Wait, this is his crib?" Piper asks in disbelief as realization strikes as to who this house belongs to.

"I uh, yes it is." Nora lowers her head and closes her eyes while she berates herself for not telling Piper sooner.

"I know I should have told you, but there was always something that would come up and I didn't want it to be awkward or something. Kind of like it is now I guess." She says with a nervous laugh as she hopes Piper isn't mad if the look on her face indicates what she is thinking. She isn't sure why she never told Piper about the house she used to live in, especially since Piper was the first person she told about her missing son. No matter, since her lover doesn't seem to mind.

"It's okay Blue." She says with a reassuring smile. She places two fingers under her chin and lifts so she can look into her lover's eyes and reassure her.

"You don't have to explain anything. I always knew you were from the commonwealth, and I was right apparently." She says extending her arms out as she looks around the house. "I just didn't think we were living this close." The reporter has been here before as with all of the other houses that are still standing to scrounge for parts. As she looks around the broken down home she realizes that this is the first time that she has taken her lovers former home in, and now she can actually visualize what it may have looked like.

She can see how happy Nora and her husband must have been after their son was born. Piper can even envision what a normal couple doing normal day to day life things may have looked like before the war. It causes her to smile, but also a slight bit of guilt goes along with it since Piper is happy that now _they_  get to spend _their_ days together doing normal things together, even if that includes killing a death claw.

"Well I guess they don't make it like this anymore," Piper says walking into another room.

"No, they don't," Nora says back, kind of amazed that her old house is still standing. "In fact, they don't make much like they used to." She says matter-of-factly while thinking of the home or shelter that they live in now. "But it's not as nice as I remember it."

"Oh, it's not that bad. Why with some hard work, a can of paint, some wood, screws, steal, and maybe some adhesive...a couple of fuses...aluminum...glass...some rubber...oh and concrete, can't forget concrete... a feather duster and a few decades of elbow grease we could have this baby looking like new in no time." This causes Nora to laugh a little, come up behind her, and slip her arms around her lover. She kisses the side of Piper's cheek and then moves to her ear.

"I missed you," Nora whispers causing Piper to lean her head back and close her eyes as a warm sensation moves through her body. They had only been apart for a few days, but after being on missions together for months on end, those few days felt like a lifetime.

Nora continues to kiss her lover's neck and take in her scent while her hands roam over familiar areas, causing Piper to breathe deeply, and lean into her lover's body. She turns around and the couple kisses each other deeply. Piper reluctantly pulls back to look at her "Blue," and she realizes why she came to look for her lover in the first place.

"Didn't you promise me food when I returned?"

"I did, but..." Nora begins to pout.

"Well, I've returned." She says like she is a queen demanding to be served. She always did like it when her father would read to her about ancient times when Piper was younger.

"And I am famished, and in need of sustenance."

"What?" All of Nora's blood has rushed out of her head until she hears Piper babble on oddly, and walk away. They were kinda in the middle of something, or so she thought.

"I'm hungry." She says obviously, with wide eyes and her brow raised. Her appetite came before pretty much anything she was in the middle of and it amazed and frustrated Nora, especially now.

Seeing the look on Nora's face with her eyes glazed over, Piper smiles a seductive smile, slowly walks to her lover, kisses her, and leans in and whispers that there will be plenty of time for dessert, later. Piper smiles as she finds herself being pulled back to their home so they can eat together and then spend the evening alone for more than just the obvious reasons. Both Valentine and Preston told her that Nora looked more and more depressed each day she was gone and Codsworth recently overheard her scream about something while sitting alone in their home, and it is causing concern. Since tomorrow is so important, Piper realizes that she has to keep Nora's hope of seeing her son again alive. She's been through and done so much that she deserves to be happy and finally get what was taken from her all those years ago, and Piper will do anything in her power to make sure that happens.

 

* * *

 

" _Manual override initiated. Cryogenic stasis suspended."_

"This is the one. Here." 

"Open it."

"Is it over? Are we okay?"

"Almost. Everything is going to be fine."

'Shaun Crying'

"Let the boy go. I'm only going to tell you this once."

"I'm not giving you Shaun!"

'Gunshot'

A feeling of helplessness, then nothing.

"At least we still have the backup."

_"Cryogenic sequence reinitialized."_

* * *

 

**October 23, 2287**

_"Critical failure in Cryogenic Array. All Vault residence must vacate immediately."_

Those words echo through her mind, and as the door to her cryo- chamber opens and she falls to the floor. Nora tries desperately to rid herself of those visions while trying to reach her family, but the memories of her husband being killed and son taken, are too fresh and too real in her mind and she needs to reassure herself that it was only a nightmare, but her body isn't cooperating. Her mind is racing as she crawls to her husband's chamber, and she can only guess how long she's been in here judging by the state of the rundown vault. Pulling herself up onto unstable legs she slowly moves towards Nate.

"Come on! There has to be a release...Come on, come on, come on." Her heart is racing as she finally finds the lever to open the chamber and the door slowly opens.

"Oh God." She cries as the horror of those memories become reality. That her husband is dead, child gone, and she has no idea where to go to now until she remembers something. Nora saw the face of one of the people responsible, and even though it may not be enough, it's a start.

She has no idea how long it has been and the thought of everyone being dead, and her never seeing her son again race through her mind. Falling to the floor, she sobs uncontrollably at the heartache and loss she feels. They were so happy and full of life, and had been blessed with a bright future, but that all changed the day the bomb fell.

How many people died that day? How many suffered the aftereffects of the Nuclear fallout? And how safe can it actually be outside of the Vault especially since her son was abducted and husband murdered? There are more questions right now, but the one that keeps repeating itself since they were told they'd be safe in the vault is... "What the fuck happened?"

"I'll find who did this and I'll get Shaun back. I promise." Nora says while looking on in disbelief. She takes her husbands hand in her own and kisses it, then gently pulls the ring off of his finger so she has something of his to hold on to.

She has no idea what to do, no idea where to go, no idea what to think, so she sits there staring at her husband's lifeless body. After a moment she composes herself and looks at the other chambers. Anything is easier then looking at Nate right now and she figures that if she's alive then maybe someone else survived as well, but as she checks each one she finds that not to be the case and the question... "What the fuck happened?"... Is asked again. 

_"Malfunction in Cryo Pod manual release override."_ A voice states when she tries to open another pod.

"Oh God. Why would Vault-Tec do this?" She says upon reaching the last chamber and finding another corpse. She closes her eyes and leans her forehead on the door of the pod and tries to think of what her next step should be, but her mind can only focus on Nate and her son.

"Hello?!" Nora calls out after hearing a noise off in the distance.

Opening the door, she looks to see if anyone may be there but it is difficult to see down the dimly lit hallway. She begins to wonder how she was kept alive and how healthy she actually is as another coughing fit happens and she struggles for breath. After a moment of rest, Nora continues to walk through the hallway of the vault but has yet to find any survivors.

Another automated voice comes over the speaker letting her know that the emergency exit door is inoperable and to contact a Vault-Tec maintenance representative, which she plans on doing and more. She finally finds a door that does work and slowly walks through it until she comes across the first living being, but it isn't Human. The hairs on her arms and neck stand up as she sees one of her worst fears come true, even though it isn't the half of what's to come.

"Giant roaches! What the Hell." She tries to hold down the contents of her stomach to no avail after stomping on the enormous bug.

Normally a can of spray would work but these new mutated versions may require something a little more. After she comes across her first dead body in a Vault 111 suit that's long since decomposed is when she realizes that there probably aren't any survivors. She searches through some papers to try and find answers, but nothing is helping. It looks like everything of importance has been cleared out and the occupants murdered. Someone didn't want the secrets of this Vault to be revealed and she wonders if the person responsible for the dead bodies she continues to find was caused by the same man who killed her husband and took her son.

Continuing her search, Nora is trying to keep her composure and nerves under control, but she has this nagging feeling that she may find something else worse than the giant bugs she's encountered so far, but is soon surprised to find that she is the only Human alive. She relaxes a little after finding a pistol and some ammo, then a Pip-boy so she can finally leave the Vault, but she will soon find that her adventure is just beginning.

" _Enjoy your return to the surface. And thank you for choosing Vault- Tec."_

The light from the sun is nearly blinding and it takes a moment for her vision to focus as her eyes try to adjust when the elevator reaches the surface. Once her vision returns to normal the lone Vault 111 survivor is shocked to witness the barren wasteland that is in front of her. Vegetation is nonexistent and the bomb has definitely left its lasting effect. So much so that she can actually see her house from the top of the cliff and something seems to be moving near her former home.

She nearly breaks her leg while climbing down the face of the steep rocky hill, but there is something familiar about the floating robot currently tending to the outside of her old house.

"Codsworth!" She says in relief as she reaches her home.

"As I live and breath!" The Mr. Handy robot exclaims excitedly. "It's...It's really you?"

"Codsworth! What happened...to the world?" Nora asks. She never thought she'd be this excited to see this flying pain in the ass, since he was always in the way and extremely long-winded, but she will make an exception for now; getting him was Nate's idea.

He begins to explain about the geraniums still being the talk of the town and how dull it has been which Nora can only shake her head at since this scrap of metal hasn't retained anything that has happened; her house and everything else is destroyed. He then asks where her better half is and the sudden urge to run back to the Vault so she can see Nate one last time hits her hard.

"They came into the Vault..." She says in a shaky voice. "Maybe you saw them?...They had guns and strange outfits?" She asks but his response to Mrs. Rosa's son running around in his Halloween costume doesn't help in the least. Mentioning that she is the perfect mother and would never allow young Shaun to do such a thing nearly crushes her.

"And where is sir, by the by?" He asks again in his annoying British accent.

"They...they killed him." Nora finds that she has become numb to the fact of her husbands passing, and is able to talk about Nate's death like the weather. Or is it shock?

"Mum these things you say...these terrible things...I...I believe you need a distraction. Yes! A distraction to calm this dire mood." It almost sounds like Codsworth actually cares what she is saying but all Nora can focus on is trying not to collapse from exhaustion. Codsworth's next statement erases the fatigue and replaces it with anger.

"It's been ages since you've had a proper family activity. Checkers or perhaps charades. Shaun does so love that game. Is the lad with you?"

"No dammit! Shaun's been kidnapped!" She tries to calm herself after her focus turns towards finding her son. "But I'm going to find him. I'm going to get my baby back."

Nora attempts to walk into her old, run down home to look for any signs that they brought Shaun back here. Even if it was just for a moment, Nora wants to see if she can find anything that may help her, and possibly eat and rest when she stops in her tracks as the Mr. Handy robot suddenly becomes helpful.

"It's worse than I thought. Your suffering from hunger-induced paranoia. Not eating properly for two hundred years will do that, I'm afraid."

"That's not possible. I wasn't out that long!" She can feel her heart rate rise as reality is setting in. "Not two hundred years."

"A bit over two hundred and ten actually, mum. Give or take a little for the Earth's rotation and some minor dents to the ole chronometer."

The lone Vault 111 survivor stops listening after Codsworth reaffirms how much time has passed. How could this be and what is she going to do now? Surely the people who took her son are long since gone, and that could include Shaun as well.

The last thing she remembers is making her way to Shaun's crib, falling to her knees and sobbing uncontrollably at the loss she feels. The Vault 111 survivor is truly alone now and she makes the decision to join her family, but before she can squeeze the trigger she gets hit from behind and as she passes out she sees Codsworth breaking her weapon and saying something about how he will take care of his Mum, even if it's from herself, as long as he is still together, no matter what.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to thank all of you who have read and left Kudos, you all rule. 
> 
> On a side note I wanted to say that the more I play this game the better it gets, and as much as I want to write this story, the game is taking over so I took a break for an hour or two to finish this chapter. 
> 
> Side note #2: Now normally I wouldn't go onto sites that may contain spoilers but someone sent me a link to a youtube vid that had all of the sarcastic answers and it was hilarious, so check it out if you get a chance, especially the female loan survivors answers. Her sarcastic remarks are a lot better then the guys but I'm not surprised since she is the voice actor for Jack from Mass effect.


	3. "Home is where you make it" Nick Valentine

**March 5, 2288**

Such a simple statement, but those words spoke volumes to Nora when Nick had said them to her. At the time of their conversation, they were just finishing up one of the oddest missions to date and were headed back to Sanctuary with a detour to Diamond City. Valentine's statement made her think about her family and everything that had happened so far, as well as her current situation.

The mission had involved a local family, the Cabot's, who apparently survived for centuries and lived in their luxury estate with no signs of ever being affected by the war or time. In the Cabot house where everything seemed normal, lived a family with a dark secret. They apparently had the father imprisoned for centuries in Parsons State Insane Asylum because he thought he had found aliens who gave him a secret formula and wore a helmet with powers, and he could live for centuries, and blah, blah, blah.

Nora stopped listening about half way through Jack Cabot's ramblings after saying something about a lot of caps for her services, and something about finding his sister who was constantly running away. If you asked Nora she was the smart one.

Needless to say, their family secret of eternal life got out, and mercenaries were sent to retrieve the elder Cabot, Lorenzo. This, in turn, caused Jack to hire Nora for her much appreciated, and sought after help. With the help of Publick Occurrences and word of mouth, the Commonwealth had been abuzz with rumors of this wanderer who seemingly came from nowhere, began helping people all over, and is now the new leader of the once defunct Minutemen faction. And if the rumors are to be believed then she has found her way in amongst the ranks of the Brother Hood of Steel and the Railroad. Normally most people wouldn't put stock in rumors they hear especially when the majority of those telling these stories are hoped up on alcohol and Jet but there always seems to be a sober witness for every inebriated one to back up the story. It also helps that there have been more settlements and supply lines created in the past few months that are going from settlement to settlement than ever before to back up what is being told in the paper as well.

The tales are of her and her different partners that have been able to help innocent people across the Commonwealth by creating places where those who are willing to work hard would be able to live safely. The reports of her companions ranged from seeing her with a synth, a Mr. Handy robot, a dog who followed her orders like no other, to a ghoul who looks an awful lot like the mayor of Good Neighbor. There are even reports of her traveling with a super-mutant, and the stories have become quite outlandish, but the most interesting ones involve Nora and an overly talkative and flirtatious Diamond City reporter as well as being the most descriptive.

Regardless of who accompanied her, one thing has held true, and that is if you are a good person and worthy she will help you as best she can, but cross her and she'll kill you just as quick. All in all this person who seemingly has come out of nowhere has been successful in her endeavors and the same was partially true for the mission to the Cabot home where they were eventually successful depending on how you looked at. In one way they weren't because they had to kill the old man who could have been bad, or possibly good. They gained some much-needed caps, but used a lot of ammo and had a set of power armor destroyed in the process; who knew fusion cores exploded when shot too many times?

_Or we should've known._ Nora silently chastises herself. _How many suits have I ruined now, three, four?...Dammit!_

And then there is the small matter of the serum that started all of this in the first place. Apparently, it could extend her life, and Jack had given it to her as partial payment, but it seemed to tear the Cabots apart and since that time Nora has always wondered just how successful this mission actually was.

"Seriously, a shot that could extend my life so I can be in this hell hole a little longer? No thank you." She remembers saying as they walked away from the Cabot house.

As tempting as it was to extend her life to possibly live that much longer so she could spend it with Shaun once they found him, the Vault 111 lone survivor knew she was already on borrowed time. She didn't want to spend what she did have left fighting monsters; she wanted to enjoy it with her son and live out her days naturally. Now that she's found Piper, who is currently sitting across from her telling a story in her usual animated way, Nora is glad that she didn't get rid of the serum too quickly, or act out the thoughts that went through her mind after the Cabot mission.

The lovers have just finished their meal and chose to just sit and talk while they both enjoy this much-needed downtime. It is such a rarity to have time to yourself without something coming up, especially when you are the leader of the Minutemen and Preston Garvey knows who you are, and where you are. But this is their time and something caught Nora's attention while they were eating and she hasn't been able to pull her eyes away, not wanting the moment to end. It is Piper, always has been, and the light from the moon and the candle on the table has made a silhouette around her and it seemed to bring out her perfect features even more. Nora has been mesmerized and this entire night has made her think one thing repeatedly; that Nick was right- Home is where you make it; and this, right now, is home.

"Your thoughts." Piper is normally the one being asked the very same question, but Nora seems to have something on her mind even though she looks to be paying attention to her ramblings.

Seeing the smile on the blue-eyed red-haired woman across from her causes her heart to flutter, and the Diamond City reporter momentarily forgets what she just asked. Nora's voice brings her out of her trans but Piper now finds herself not wanting to talk anymore.

"Just thinking about what Nick said to me a little while ago, is all." Both lovers stare at each other for a moment and take each other's hand. Piper's brow raises to indicate to Nora to continue.

"We talked about what home is, and where I want it to be," Nora says staring back at the one thing that has kept her going to convey what or who she is actually talking about. The look she is getting from the woman sitting in front of her always causes a warm feeling in her heart, but there is also a sense of wanting to be completely open to the reporter about everything and anything which can be a good thing, but also bad considering what may happen tomorrow.

Pushing those sad thoughts from her mind, Nora continues to tell Piper all about the mission to the Cabot house and how she and Nick began to appreciate each other even more.

 

* * *

 

 

"You take the serum, Nick." Nora had said while attempting to hand him the wooden box with the syringe in it.

She smiles as she remembers her conversation that day with the Diamond City detective quite well. It had been a few months since she climbed out from the vault and she had been traveling for a while. Everyone continually told her how much good she was doing for the Commonwealth and how appreciative they were of her for creating places for the settlers to call home, but there was always this void in her life; always something missing. She began to even doubt that it would be filled once they found her son, but that missing piece would find its way to her in the form of Piper and she realized something after Nick told her his stories and that a home doesn't have to be a physical place.  

"You look like you could use it more than me." Nora smiles at the memory and the sarcastic mood she seems always be in every time she is around the kind-hearted synth. She is amazed he has yet to shoot her.

Both Nick and Nora agreed that the Cabot's home was probably the nicest house they had ever been in, and they kind of wanted to stay longer, but as usual another settlement needed help or some settler wandered off and got themselves kidnapped, so she would have to drop everything and help. Before they reached their destination the Diamond City detective seemed anxious to talk to her, and she was not expecting it to affect her as much as it did.

"Hey let me ask you something."

"Is something wrong?" Nora could sense the hesitation in Nick's voice, and it initially made her worry that she made the wrong decision with regards to Lorenzo Cabot. Synth or not, Nicks her friend and his opinion matters.

"Well, I sort of have the same question." The statement causes Nora to turn and look at her synth companion with a questioning stare.

"It's just with everything that has happened to you- your family. It's a whole hell of a lot to process. I wanted to make sure you were holding up alright."

His words had caught her off guard at the time and at that moment, on that day, she'd break her most important rule she came up while traveling through the commonwealth; don't stop. It's easier to hit a stationary target, so keep your ass moving and it won't get shot off. There were others but this was number 1 on her list, but not this day as Nora paused for a moment to think about what he had said to her. It is something that she has needed to get off of her chest since she woke up, and who better to tell then Nick. Between all of her companions that she has traveled with across the Commonwealth she considers Piper and Nick to be her closest friends. 'Just another prototype' and a 'reporter who is always in over her head' are how they described themselves, but they are more than that to Nora. She shared certain parts of her life to them immediately upon meeting the both of them, yet they weren't the first people she came across. The first group of people she had met in Concord were made up of Preston and the small group he was protecting and they had accepted her but were more concerned with their own safety then what the Vault 111 survivor needed. She still can't figure any good reason why she was able to talk about Shaun's kidnapping so much easier in front of Piper and Nick than anyone else but she is glad she did. Now she finally has the chance to tell her closest friend the one thing that she has wanted to say but is having a hard time finding the words.

Up until now, only Piper has asked her anything like this yet, and she figures it is mainly due to how she presents herself. She just shrugged it off and moved onto another topic when Piper had asked but at the time it was too fresh in her mind, too raw to even try to put it into words. But here is her friend asking her how she is holding up, the one question she finally has an answer to, and she's not sure how to. They aren't any closer to finding Shaun so she's unsure of what to say. She could lie like normal and say she is fine, that this is her life now and she has to cope or even deflect the question back to him, but with everything Nick has done for her so far, he deserves the truth.

"I don't know Nick. My family is in tatters..." Nora has put on a brave face since waking up from the vault, but her voice always breaks at the mention of her family.

"I've been dropped in this place where everything is trying to kill me." Some days have been better than others but right now all she wants to do is lock herself back in the vault she just crawled out of. Piper has a special place in her heart but it is difficult to think about what her life was like before all of this and not want to go back to it, as impossible as that may be.

"You tell me." Nora kicks at a piece of rubble from one of the nearby crumbling buildings as she voices her frustrations while wiping her hand across her cheeks.

"I'd expect you to feel lost, scared, and mad as hell. I sure did." Nick says agreeing with her. If anyone understood her frustrations it was the duo from Diamond City due to their pasts.

Nora had heard from Piper all about her tragic and difficult past and the struggle she was facing with regards to raising her sister. Piper had been contemplating staying away from her younger sister so she wouldn't turn into her, but Nora immediately told her it was a bad idea. The one and only piece of advice she could give the Diamond City reporter without falling apart was that family is precious and that she should not try to drive them away because she may lose them forever. Her words seemed to sink in and Piper took her advice to heart and now Nick wants his turn to reminisce about his past and what he went through to get to where he is today. He continues to tell her all about his initial acceptance into Diamond City even with all of the troubles that synths had caused, and he seems appreciative of the life he has had so far. Nicks attitude through everything is the one thing that continues to surprise the Vault 111 survivor, and that is how Human he always comes across.

"It took me a long time to realize that home is where you make it."

After he finishes there is a long pause as her previous thoughts soon leave just as quickly as it entered, and Nate's face is replaced with another, Piper's. For some reason, the Diamond City reporter has been able to erase her sad thoughts without saying a word and Nora is grateful that Piper is in her life. A smile forms on her face which seems to happen each time the Vault 111 survivor thinks of Ms. Wright.

"Piper is where my home is now," Nora says but ignores the smile from Nick as she turns to look straight ahead as they begin walking. 

"Once I get Shaun back, it'll be the four of us, and we can settle down somewhere and not have to worry about any of this." She gestures to the remains of what used to be a thriving city then looks towards her companion.

"Thanks, Nick. For asking."

"Anytime."

She knows that her focus has to be on the here and now and that an enemy can be around the next corner, but Piper is all that she can think about. She takes a quick calming breath, loads another magazine into her favorite .50 caliber rifle, and gives thanks to her father for teaching her how to shoot. They continue to walk through the ruins of Boston on their way to Nicks home to speak with his assistant and possibly a lead on an old case but "home" is all that Nora can think about. Getting back to Sanctuary has a new meaning after her discussion with Nick and she wants to hurry back, but are delayed a little. While on their way to Diamond City a sign that says "Combat Zone" catches her eye, and her interest, especially if it means killing more Raiders. She knows that Piper will still be there but her excitement is getting the best of her, so some much-needed target practice should be a good way to calm her nerves before seeing the pretty face of Ms. Wright again.

* * *

 The memory fades and the concerned face of Piper Wright comes into focus. At some point in her reminiscing about what Nick had said to her, Nora had unknowingly begun to cry and her attention had been fixed to the hill behind Sanctuary. Piper isn't sure what has caused her lover to become upset so she squeezes her hand to get Nora's attention.

"Home is anywhere you are Piper." She begins, and for the first time ever, Piper Wright is speechless.

"You and Nat of course..." Nora corrects herself and smiles at her lover. It's hard for her to imagine getting a second chance at being apart of another family, much less one that includes a widow, a couple of orphans, and hopefully her son that she hasn't seen since he was a baby, but that is what the Commonwealth is filled with now; broken families trying to become whole again.

"And Shaun too, hopefully." She takes a deep breath and decides to tell Piper what is on the note she had written, but is scared of how she will react. She has been going over numerous different ways this plan of her staying behind to detonate the Nuke can be different and thinks she has found a way, but there is always that chance of something going wrong.

"Piper I want you to promise me that if I don't make it back then..."

"Hey don't think like that." Piper interrupts immediately and brings her hand up to her lips and kisses it. She wipes away the moisture that is around her eyes that formed immediately after Blue had told her that she was her home now. As soon as she mentioned her not making it back, all of those heartfelt words went to the back of her mind, for the moment. They were going to all make it back!

"We will find him and we will make those responsible for all of this pay for what they have done, and then we will all come home. That I do promise. Even if that means destroying the Institute-we will find a way."

Piper's words are a necessity for her to hear right now, and Nora believes the truth- can feel the truth in them. She is amazed that she has been able to find such a special person in all of this mess as she has in the Diamond City reporter. She forgets about wanting to discuss her worst fears about tomorrow and begins to wonder how did she get this lucky by being able to find someone this special to have in her life while most have no one. This includes everyone that she has met. All of the people who were strangers only a few months ago are now willing to fight and die for her. Sure her husband served his country and she has had to deal with a tremendous amount of adversity, but she still can not figure out what she did to deserve any of this special treatment, and how she has been able to be so successful.

"It's because of who you are," Piper answers the unasked question. Seeing the confused look on her lovers face, Piper continues.

"I know you Blue. I know what you're thinking, but have you forgotten what you have done for so many who couldn't do for themselves. How many people have you saved since you stepped out of that vault?" Nora has never been one to accept praise of any kind and has since turned away from Piper, looking out in the distance again. So the Diamond City reporter squeezes her hand and successfully gains her attention once more.

"You saved me, and Nat. You saved everyone here and are constantly putting your own needs aside in order to help others. That is one of the reasons why I fell in love with you. Why I will follow you anywhere."

Piper's words cause Nora to smile, lean in to kiss her lover, and make a decision she never thought she'd be able to do. She can't remember when she was this happy and it is all thanks to the woman sitting in front of her. Nora pulls the chain that is around her neck and hidden on the inside of her dress, up to reveal two gold rings. As soon as she does this a vision of Nate comes to the forefront of her mind but it is of him smiling, almost like he is accepting of her decision. She looks towards the hill where the vault is, where Nate is and thinks about everything that she is leaving behind with her next decision. More importantly, she needs to think about everything that she will gain as well. She closes her eyes, squeezes the rings in her hand and then stands up with an outstretched hand. She smiles when her lover takes it and stands to meet her gaze, but notices her start to tremble.

"Piper I need to ask you something..." The Diamond City reporters stomach instantly drops and her legs feel like they are about to give out on her. She is well aware of what is in Nora's hand and what it will mean. Yes, she loves Nora with everything that she is and wants to be a family, but she never imagined they'd be talking about this right now. Piper begins to imagine what her life will be like now with the four of them but Nora's words bring her back to the present time and Piper notices that her lover is no longer smiling.

"But before I do I have to do something and I want you to come with me." It isn't fair to Piper and Nora needs closure on her old life, and needs to give him a proper burial to have that happen; even if it's just collapsing the entire vault.

With only a nod and a curious stare, the Diamond City reporter agrees and follows her lover out of their home and to the trail that leads to the hill behind Sanctuary Hill's. Piper isn't sure what is up there and even though her curiosity is getting the better of her and causing her to worry, she believes that whatever it is will be the start of their lives together as a family no matter where that may be; as long as they are together.

* * *

**October 24, 2287**

"Ready and pull!" A muffled voice is heard from underneath the beast that Nora killed on the streets of Concord just moments ago.

Sounds of men struggling and metal scraping across the ground get louder as what's left of the crippled set of Power Armor that Nora is in is pulled from underneath the now dead monster. Inside she patiently waits while trying to keep herself calm due to the lack of air, movement, and space she has had to deal with for the last ten minutes after the beast collapsed on top of her. Before today, Nora never knew if she was claustrophobic or not, and now was definitely not the time to see if she is, but she's left with few options. Top it off with not having a helmet, since it was ripped off moments before she was able to fire the last of her ammo from the mini-gun into its stomach, and Nora is not having the best day.

"You're almost free, just hang on a little longer." A male's voice is heard which normally would have helped in a situation like this but the man they called Preston sounds panic-stricken.

She wanted to raise her hand up or open her mouth to tell them that she was okay but each movement seemed impossible since both arms were crushed and she may lose her lunch if she breaths in any more of the stench from her kill above her. Forced to be content with closing her eyes, taking shallow breaths, and waiting, Nora thinks back to earlier that day.

After she slept for the next twelve hours Nora awoke to Codsworth preparing something that smelled like food, but after some examination, she came to the conclusion that it did not look nor taste anything like she was used too. It almost pained her to eat it and she deduced that it was probably due to the radiation in the food. The Geiger counter on her Pip-boy continually came to life each time she took a bight, but no matter, she needed something in her system and her butler robot was all too eager to help still, so she let him. They talked a little while longer as she forces her "food" down, trying to get information from him, but the Mr. Handy robot had been in Sanctuary hills for the past two hundred plus years, only travelling as far as Concord, the next town over once before where they apparently pummeled him with sticks, forcing him to return home.

"I like these people already." She's not sure where her sarcastic remark came from considering she never was before, and Codsworth meant well, but it made her feel better.

She collected all the supplies that she thought she may need for her trip to include her reassembled 10mm pistol, said her goodbyes in hopes that this would be the last time she'd see her old home, and headed anywhere else but the reminder of her previous life. Keeping her head down so to not have a constant picture of what her old neighborhood looked like, she stuck to the road and stayed cautious. She'd eventually make her way to an abandon gas station where she'd meet a German Shepard that seemed to be almost anxiously waiting for her to arrive. He showed that he would be a loyal companion by helping her kill some mutated looking moles with teeth the size of her hand, that was hell-bent on trying to turn her femur into a toothpick, and then turned their attention to Concord. This is where she met up with more people who wanted her dead and some refugees just looking for a safe haven.

After she made it through the first wave of Raiders, Nora found herself looking at a dwindling group of people who were just looking for a place to live. Her first instinct was to send them to where she came from while she continued on but ultimately found herself in a set of power armor with a mini-gun killing more people, or Raiders as they are supposedly called. She'd never killed anyone before and with each bullet fired and lifeless body that seemed to look back at her, the anger at being forced into this life grew until the last body fell and she continued to pull the trigger, shooting into the air. Bullets and sparks shot out the end of the gun as the barrels continued to glow a dark crimson. After firing the last round, all of her emotions came out over her situation which caused her to scream, while throwing the overheated gun down onto the uneven pavement. She was about to repeat the action when she heard a growl come from the end of the block.

"What the fuck is that thing?!" Nora yelled while trying to get her brain to wrap around what was coming for her.

In an instant all of her anger and pain were forgotten as a 'monster' with sharp teeth, horns and ten-inch claws climb out of a hole in the ground, and begins to run at her at an amazingly fast speed. She had more rounds but never reloaded a mini-gun before so screams for help from the man called Preston. She would figure it out with his help but not before the creature was halfway to her, and cause her to start to panic. Hearing others scream for her to get off of the street she makes the decision to stay and fight and it is a decision that would change her for the rest of her days while wondering the Commonwealth. As she squeezes the trigger and the gun slowly comes to life with a deafening roar, she finds herself screaming just as loud.

She continues to yell as she tries to keep the massive gun steady, for her life that she was forced to leave behind, for the lives of the people behind her. She cries out for the new life she is now made to live in where creatures like this one that is closing in on her are probably not uncommon. Nora yells for her dead husband and missing son, and as the monster grows closer her screams get louder as she feels the adrenaline build until her anger turns into pure hatred at it all; especially since this goddamn abomination was not dying.

It took all two hundred plus bullets she had left until she saw the monster's stomach begin to open up and chunks of meat were ripped away. Soon a hole was made as the last of her ammo exploded out of its back, killing the creature, but not before it crashed into her and forcing them both to slide to the entrance of the museum. No one could believe what they just saw from the balcony above and it took them a few moments to realize that their savior who just killed a death claw, something that most people avoid, may need help.

And that brings us to now, with Preston and Sturgis giving one last heave in order to get Nora out from under the monster. They had been forced to pull her by her legs with how the Death Claw had fallen on her so the last thing they see is her exposed face that seems lifeless. After a moment of everyone holding their collective breaths, they release them as the woman in the mutilated Power Armor sucks in a deep breath of semi-fresh air and begins to cough a little. Their savior is alive but with stunts like that they all knew that she would not make it long out in the Commonwealth.

"I ask again..." Nora begins as they free her from the destroyed metal suit. "What the fuck was that thing?"

"Death claw." Garvey is the first to answer. "That was a pretty amazing display. I'm just glad you're on our side."

"Yeah. Feelings mutual, Preston." Nora says a little out of breath. Her nerves are beginning to get the better of her, and her hands are now shaking as the adrenaline is wearing off.

She was planning on continuing her journey after she figures that this group of travelers is just trying to survive and probably doesn't have any answers for her, but gets asked by Preston to help them get settled in Sanctuary. She was about to politely decline when she does get a little help in the form of an elderly lady who tells her things that she couldn't possibly know.

"There's more to your destiny. I've seen it." The old lady had caught her off guard when she initially spoke up from the corner of the dilapidated Museum. Her next words cause a chill to run through her and wonder how Mama Murphy knew any of this.

"I know your pain. You're a woman out of time. Out of hope. But all is not lost. I can...feel your son's energy. He is alive."

Nora didn't know if she wanted to shoot this crazy old hag or hug her. It pained her to give her chems to get the answers she was looking for and use an elderly lady like this, but she was desperate. She eventually told Nora that she needs to go to someplace called Diamond City. She was initially reluctant to go back to Sanctuary but after hearing all of this she needed to learn everything that this woman knew, and decided to stay and help them as long as she possibly could until the time came where she had enough information to find her son and avenge Nate's death.

 

 

 

 


	4. "We've suffered. This pain is now our lives. For God sakes we've suffered, enough!" Corey Taylor

**March 5, 2288**

Standing on what she can only imagine is a large elevator platform, Piper looks over to where her lover is currently standing and lets out a long nervous sigh. She wasn't sure what to expect after Nora had pulled out the two gold rings that she has carried around with her at a constant. She looked like she was about to get down on one knee and give Piper one, but her mood changed in an instant; it always seemed too when she thought of Nate.

Piper loves the lone Vault 111 survivor dearly but it is extremely difficult to tell what type of mood she is going to be in when they discuss her past. Piper had inquired as to why it continually happened and if there was a way she could help to the local Diamond City doctor, and she was told that is was grief but also survivors guilt, especially for Nora. Millions of people died in an instant and Nora wonders why she was sparred, and the Publick Occurrence reporter had hoped they were past most of her guilt but it doesn't seem to be. Piper wants to be there for her lover now more than ever, but she is feeling uncomfortable due to where she is standing.

As curious as the Diamond City reporter became about where they were going when they were walking up the hill, Piper wants nothing to do with this vault and what's below. She knows who is down there, knows why Nora is upset, and why she didn't give her the ring. And even though there may be more evidence for a more in-depth story about Vault 111 for the paper, Piper does not want to be here.

Since meeting and falling for Nora she has always known that she would have to play second to Shaun once they found him, and was okay with it; Nora was accepting of the same role with Nat as well. The problem Piper is dealing with is having to compete for her lover's attention over her dead husband. She knows it isn't fair, at least in the beginning, Nora was still grieving, but it's getting old, especially with the most recent events happening. Even with all of that, there is one question that continually repeats in her head; it she being selfish?

"Hey, Piper." Nora's voice brings her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah?" She forces a smile but doesn't make eye contact, and Nora is able to guess what's on her mind as she reaches her lover; it has been on hers as well.

"I know I haven't always put you first..." Nora begins once she is in front of the Diamond City reporter and takes her hands in her own. "And I wanted to apologize for that."

"You don't..." Piper tries to interrupt and looks up to meet her gaze hoping she didn't actually voice her thoughts and offend her, but Nora puts a finger to her lips to quiet the talkative reporter. 

"I do." She nods her head while she speaks to emphasize her point. "Yes, I do. There have been times when you've taken a back seat to a family that I lost a long time ago, as well as the settlers we help, but you've always been there for me, and it's not fair. It's not fair to you, or to me to keep going on like this, and it needs to end now."

"What do you mean?" Piper asks in a nervous voice but is soon put at ease after she hears Nora's explanation.

"Nate and everyone else down there deserves a proper burial and I know this is horrible timing with it being our night, but I just thought it was necessary before we moved forward. I need to move forward." Nora closes her eyes when she sees Piper nod in agreement, and squeeze her hand. But nearly jumps out of her skin when she hears a voice speak up from behind her.

"Might I be of some assistance with that task, Mum?" Codsworth asks.

Nora is about to yell at the flying tin can and threaten to turn him into a disco ball and a jukebox until she sees some familiar faces walking behind him. Preston, Sturges, Cait, MacCready, Deacon, and the entire settlement of Sanctuary have accompanied the Mr. Handy robot and even though the sentiment is nice, Nora wants some answers.

"I know this is your night General," Preston says hoping she doesn't rip his head off.

"But I saw you walk up here and I only followed you to make sure you were okay. Nothing more." Preston says unconvincingly. Seeing the looks on all of their faces he tries to reaffirm his actions which doesn't help.

"It's the truth!" When no one continues to believe him Nora rolls her eyes and holds her hand up so he can continue. Voyeuristic or not, Preston is trying to tell her something. 

"I overheard your conversation and I already had a feeling about what this place may have been, so _we_ wanted to see if we could help _you_ this time General, and give everyone down there a proper burial."

The smile on Nora's face is one that neither Preston nor anyone else has seen before and it warms his heart to think that this small token could make the woman who is trying to save the Commonwealth one settlement at a time this happy. She looks down to see what he is holding, and a slight sob escapes before she can cover her mouth.

Cradled in his arms are a pair of boots, a rifle with a bayonet on the end of it, and an old military style helmet; all the makings of a battlefield cross for fallen soldiers. Nora quickly nods her head in appreciation considering what it symbolizes and watches as he places the boots down, then hammers the bayoneted end of the rifle into the ground between them, and finally places the helmet on the stock.

"He was a soldier and died trying to protect an innocent life. I can't think of a more fitting way for him to be remembered." He says as he stands up.

There aren't too many people around right now who know about this unless they did their homework and Nora is having a hard time keeping her emotions at bay. After he sets it up she slowly moves to where the marker for fallen soldiers now stands and looks down at the makeshift cross. She bows her head in a silent prayer, and pulls the necklace up over her head and hangs it on the handle of the rifle. She turns to face Piper who is standing off to the side and slightly behind her, looking at the cross with her own tears falling down her cheeks, and as she makes eye contact with Nora, a questioning stare comes across the reporter's features.

"What, do you think I'm that cheap that I'm not going to buy you your own ring?" Nora says, trying to lighten the mood, and Piper responds the only way she can. She laughs, rolls her eyes and throws her arms around her lovers neck, and continually tells her how much she loves her while silently relieved that they can move to the next part of their lives.

"I'd give you the entire Commonwealth if I could," Nora whispers in her ear. After a moment of being content with just holding each other, the two reluctantly pull away, but still hold hands. They move to where the rest of the onlookers are standing, waiting for Preston to speak.

Looking back he sees the expression on both of the women's faces in front of him and it tells him how appreciative they are, each in their own way. Garvey knows that it has been a long road for the both of them and he has wanted to help the leader of the Minutemen in some way for a while, but the opportunity hadn't presented itself until now. Preston nods towards Codsworth who deactivates the controls to lower the platform so no one will have access and disturb what is the final resting place for well over twenty people. He then removes his hat, puts down his rifle and gives a eulogy in remembrance of those that died in Vault 111.

He didn't know any of them, didn't need to know them in order to speak on their behalf, and Nora could not have asked for a better sermon. Not being someone who is religious, and doubting many of the citizens are in this day and age, but Nora knows one thing is for certain and that they all have their heads down praying for someone who has lost their lives even if it isn't those in the Vault below them. They pray for the people they have lost but more importantly what they have gained as well, and what they hope to gain after they take on the Institute. 

Piper is no different as thoughts of her father and sister run through her head, but as she looks up and watches everyone standing there she gets this overwhelming feeling that each of them has the same thought in common while listening to Preston speak. It's the same thing that she is now thinking, and that is to thank whoever is out there for allowing this woman that she currently has her hand intertwined, and madly in love with, to survive where so many did not. She survived so that she may help them all obtain the lives they never thought possible and give them that chance no one else would.

She remembers the first time they met vividly and since then has been amazed at what she's been able to accomplish. Everyone there has suffered at some point in their lives and here, now, is the day it stops for them all; they've suffered enough.

 

X

X

X

X

**November 23, 2287**

It had been one month to the day since she climbed out of the Vault. One month to the day since she found out that her old life was gone along with her husband and child. And it has been one month to the day that she began to realize that her new life is not what she thought it would be. She's accepted the hand she has been dealt, and in a short period of time, she has helped the small group that she met in Concord set up Sanctuary so that it is now starting to take shape and be a safe community again. It's been easier for Nora to take on these tasks since it keeps her dark thoughts from surfacing.

The lone Vault 111 survivor has also helped other settlements that are around the Commonwealth and was even able to get the settlers to support the Minutemen. So now the once defunct faction can grow and be what they once were; Protectors of the Commonwealth.

As reluctant as she was, Nora has also become the leader of the Minutemen now due to her hard work and ability to bring a settlement together quickly.

"You saved us in Concord. There wasn't anything in it for you. You had your own problems to deal with. But you did it anyway." Preston had given her this as the reason why she could be the one to rebuild the Minutemen, and so far he's been right in putting his faith in her.

"That's why I'm talking to you. I can't rebuild the Minutemen...but I think you can."

Up until this point she has set up four settlements in areas that had nothing prior and helped four more areas be able to take in settlers by planting more food, finding water, and building make-shift homes for those that followed her signal. It amazes her how much she has learned in such a short amount of time to even include how to demolish pretty much anything and be able to turn it into something useful. Even her ability to shoot has improved which she has found out is a necessity, but right now isn't about that.

Right now she is traveling to a place that is already established and today is strictly for her, in hope of finding answers about where her son may be. Today she is traveling to Diamond City and as she looks at the map on her Pip-boy and then down to her companion Dogmeat, she has to take a deep breath of relief, realizing how close she is to their destination. She pets Dogmeats head to which his ears stand up and his tail wags a little more much to her delight. Nora smiles down at her companion who is the most well-behaved animal she has ever met but when she looks up her smile slowly fades when she begins to recognize her surroundings, and what Diamond City actually is, or used to be. It was a ballpark she went to as a kid and many times after when she and Nate would go to watch her favorite team play, and now it's a shanty town.

"I'm calling it right here. This world can officially bite my ass." She says while pinching the bridge of her nose, and squeezing her eyes closed at the oncoming headache.

She sighs, lets out a deep breath and continues on with her focus on the giant wall, and she nearly runs into a security guard who does not give her the best first impression of the people who live here.

"Watch where you're fucking going."

"Oh...sorry." She stammers out while looking him over. "Who are you?"

"Diamond City security lady. Now move it along, or are we going to have a problem?"

It takes her a minute to realize what he is wearing but it soon sinks in. The mask, the hat, the chest protector, and even the glove. Diamond City security were all dressed in catchers gear from well before the Great War and she cannot fathom how they are supposed to be protected from bullets much less a sledgehammer; they weren't made for that. There aren't too many balls being tossed around, and those that are, explode, so she wonders if she should tell him about the Raiders she just killed on the wrecked boat who had better armor; she'd sell him some. Even the guns they hold, which are nothing more than blocks of wood with a pipe taped to it can hardly be enough against a Super Mutant attack. Hell, she doesn't even want to mess with the green mutants if she can help it and the mods on her rifle have made it as powerful as it will get.

"No. No problem." She is trying not to laugh in his face, but he looks ridiculous.

"Can you point me in the right direction to the entrance?" She makes a hand signal that would have come from a coach during a ball game, and it clearly goes over his head which causes her to laugh a little more. She knows exactly where to go but it feels good to finally laugh, even if it is at someone else's expense.

Only getting an extremely annoyed gesture to continue moving she nods in appreciation and moves to the front of the stadium where she sees the second person who brings a smile to her face in as many moments. It is a young woman with dark hair, around her age, dressed in a long red trench coat, and a brown hat with a piece of paper sticking out of the side. On it, is the written word 'Press' and Nora can only shake her head and smile a little more; this has been one of her more enjoyable days since she woke up.

That smile starts to fade a little and her expression turns quizzical when she sees how animated the woman is and it looks to Nora like this lady in red is yelling at someone, she hopes since no one else is around. She moves a little closer and begins to listen and now wonders if she should not say anything since this woman may be on drugs.

"What do you mean you can't open the gate? Stop playing around, Danny! I'm standing out in the open here, for crying out loud!" Nora finally sees the call box that she is speaking into and can hear the apologetic male voice on the other side who does not want to be having this conversation.

"I'm sorry, I'm just doing my job."

"Oooh... Just doing your job?" Nora's never seen someone wave their hands around so much and takes a step back so she doesn't get hit as the girl apparently named Piper continues.

"Protecting Diamond City means keeping me out, is that it?" The wanderer of the Commonwealth begins to actually listen to what's being said and wonders why they would not let someone who they obviously know, in.

"Oh look, It's the scary reporter! Boo!" And that statement is probably the reason Nora figures as she stifles as a laugh to no avail. This woman is insane.

The conversation continues and Nora finds out that apparently the mayor of Diamond City and Piper do not get along. What she also finds out, and does not like to hear is that Piper has a younger sister and a home waiting for her inside the walls. If it's one thing that Nora has learned while creating settlements across the Commonwealth it is that no one should be denied a home.

Nora is about to speak up and berate the security guard on the other end as well when Piper turns and notices her standing there.

"You. You want into Diamond City, right?" Piper calls over to her in a low whisper. She is now apart of the conversation whether she wanted to be or not.

"I just got here, but yeah." Nora wasn't expecting the woman in the red trench coat, shoulder length raven colored hair, and pretty hazel eyes to ask her anything and is caught off guard.

She follows along with Pipers ruse in order for Danny the security guard to open the gate and it actually works, but her attention is still focused on something else entirely as the giant metal door opens to let them in. Nora's focus comes back when Piper speaks up again.

"Better head inside quick before ole Danny catches on to the bluff."

"You first." Nora says and in that moment as well as all others after, her opinion of Piper changes as time goes along, and it all starts with one simple statement.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Those words, and Piper have stuck with her since the Diamond City reporter said them to her.

Nora didn't realize it at the time but each companion she'd meet from that day forward would be an important part in her journey to find her son, but none more than Piper Wright.

 

 

 

 

 


	5. "For man holds the power to abolish all forms of human life" John F. Kennedy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to thank everyone who took the time to read this, and thanks for the support.
> 
> A small warning for this chapter. I normally only write about things that I've dealt with and this chapter is no different. Not that I've been involved in a nuclear fallout or anything (yeah that was bad) but I do know what its like to be in a bad relationship, only for you to find that one person who is perfect for you later on. You appreciate them that much more, I feel anyway, but off my soap box I hop and I hope you enjoy.

**March 9, 2288**

Since Piper was a little girl she has had the ability to remember nearly every moment in her life, every conversation she has ever been a part of, and some she wasn't even supposed to be listening to. But that's what makes a good reporter. Being able to remember what a person said or did, or was wearing at the time of an event or interview, so she could worry about putting it on paper later. It had been especially helpful as of late when she normally wouldn't have a way to write down what she saw that was particularly interesting; namely every time she and Blue traveled out in the Commonwealth. Not always having the luxury of being able to carry around a terminal, or even be able to pull a pencil and paper out to start jotting down what was happening, being shot at kind of puts a damper on doing anything else, so Piper is grateful for this ability.

Having this ability has been a blessing for her but no more so than today. She has been trying to figure out what had happened a couple of days ago as well as remember something that Blue had said to her that hinted at what the letter Codsworth had handed to her is saying. Piper cannot figure out why Blue thought that their infiltration into the Institute would be a one-way ticket just for her, and why Nora thought it was okay to just leave her with another mouth to feed. Another kid to take care of while she died a hero and left Piper all alone. It isn't fair that the journalist just found happiness and now it may be taken away.

_'Who was the Institute to do that to her, they'd taken enough? Who was Blue to allow it to happen?'_   She thinks to herself, crumpling the letter in her hand in frustration.

No, Blue was not a selfish person. She always put others needs in front her own to even include putting the search for her son on hold to help the Commonwealth. So there must be a reason why Blue wrote this letter that has made the Diamond City reporter love Nora that much more, but also want to strangle her all at the same time.  

She leans forward while sitting on the tree stump that has come to be her place to think, puts her head between her arms looking at the ground, runs her hands through her hair, and tries to relax. Piper thinks back to a few days ago and tries to figure out what went wrong. They were all supposed to go to the Institute, but unfortunately, that's not what happened. The memories from three days ago are of the group that included herself, Blue and as many Minutemen that could fit, standing on the platform Sturgis had built.

Everything was an unknown, but it was thought that if they all stood with Nora on the platform that they would all be teleported to help her retrieve Shaun, but they would be wrong. Piper can still feel how warm her hand felt while holding Blue's, and then in a flash, the feeling was gone along with her lover. Preston and Sturgis scrambled to get her back, but in the end, all they could do was look back at Piper apologetically, not having an answer for the Diamond City reporter. Then to top it all off the confused as always, Mr. Handy robot was there when everyone left the platform and told Piper that he was to give the letter to her when she got back, and he was glad they had returned safely. Still confused by it all, Piper walked away and sat on a tree stump at the entrance to Sanctuary Hills and read Blue's heartbreaking words until Preston walked over to her to check on her.

"The General can take care of herself." He had tried to reassure the reporter, but Piper just shook her head and wiped away at the moisture that was threatening to fall.

"Did you know about this?" She had asked and nearly shoved the letter in Garvey's face.

The only response was an apologetic look from Preston after he read part of the letter, and her telling him to leave her alone.

He tried to explain to her that it was only supposed to be used as a last resort, and someone would stay behind and set off the Nuke if everything else failed. His excuse would have helped if Nora wasn't missing, with a nuclear bomb, and alone at the Institute. She wasn't really mad at Preston or even Nora, but frustrated and scared at the entire situation. They hadn't been apart for more than a few days since they met and Piper agreed to accompany her, so this was new, and Piper didn't like it.

Now, as Piper sits on the stump that overlooks the entrance to Sanctuary Hills, their home, she thinks back, in hopes that there is some answer to where she might be. It's not working since every time she closes her eyes she is instantly brought back to a few evenings prior. They had just returned from the ceremony at the Vault and Piper was caught off guard when Nora let go of her hand grabs her from behind, spins her around, and Nora's lips pressed against hers. They both fell through the door to their home, and the rest of the night belonged to the two lovers and it was pure bliss for the both of them. They woke up later the next day still tangled in each other’s arms and continued what they started the night before.

It was an amazing night and when Piper thinks back to that time her face becomes as red as her jacket. She is pretty sure she can no longer look at anyone in the eye again in the settlement, but with the embarrassment comes longing. That longing turns into the realization that that night may be the last time they would be together. That this could be the final part of her article for Publick Occurrences, but it will be the first one without an ending.

No, Piper refuses to believe that Nora is gone, and as good a memory as this one is, it will not be the last one they have together. The Diamond City reporter doesn't know the meaning of the word quit and knows that the only way that she can see her lover again is if she finds her on her own. She takes out a pencil and begins to write all of her memories since meeting Blue. Up until now, they did everything together so maybe Piper can figure out where her lover went to, so they, as well as the Commonwealth, can get the ending it deserves. 

 

**November 30, 2287**

"I lost my baby all over again." The look on Nora's face was heartbreaking as she explained about Kellogg and how he gave her son to the Institute. 

"The Institute? Hoo boy." Piper didn't know what to think when Blue had told her and Nick where her son had been taken to.

Piper had heard the horror stories from others that she had interviewed about their loved ones being kidnapped, but it never struck the same chord as it is now.

"I've been investigating those creeps for over a year now. The Commonwealths boogeymen. Feared and hated by everyone." Piper's words weren't helping, but she wasn't sure that lying was the best thing; Blue needed to know what she was up against.

"Sometimes they snatch people in the middle of the night. And sometimes they leave old synths behind to remind us that they're out there. But to this day, there's one thing nobody really knows..."

"Where the Institute actually is. Or how to get in." Piper looks to Nick as he finishes her sentence and then back to Blue.

The reporter could tell that the Vault 111 survivor was trying to listen, but her distant stare told Piper that her thoughts were elsewhere; like back at the building where she had killed the only lead she had to find her son.

"A murderer gets his brains blown out by an avenging parent." Piper sighs and shakes her head. "It'd be a great ending if we didn't still have the biggest mystery in the Commonwealth to solve." It seemed like a tragic way to end Blue's journey but Valentine had other ideas.

He went on to talk about how they could use Kellogg's brain, much to Piper's dismay. It became especially touch and go for the reporter’s stomach after Nora made the comment about needing something called an ice cream scoop to get what she needed. When they finally finished torturing Piper they ended up with a destination- Goodneighbor. It is where the memory den and doctor Amari was, and would be their next stop. But after they found out what they needed, and saw Kellogg's memories, Nora wanted nothing to do with her journey for the moment.

After they were done at the memory den Nick, Blue, and Piper made their way to the third rail bar to unwind before crashing in the room they just rented. She had nearly begged Piper to drop it, so she could try and wrap her mind around the fact that she had missed ten years of her son's life. The reporter was more than happy to talk about something else, and she found herself talking about how people needed help around the Commonwealth and Blue was up for the job. Piper figured that it was just a way to take her mind off of her son and possibly having to kill more people like Kellogg.

She didn't need to, but Blue began to explain why she needed a break from her search, but it was almost like she was trying to convince herself. Piper figured it was the alcohol allowing her to talk more freely, and she listened intently as the Vault dweller explained her life. It was the first time Piper heard about Blue's husband, and she wondered just how strong this woman in front of her actually is in order to deal with it all. 

"Did I tell you that I was planning on leaving Nate when he was deployed?" Blue surprises everyone at the table with her revelation.

"Yep, I was that much of a bitch that I was going to leave my husband while he fought for his country." Her words were slurring worse and worse as the night went on and the drinks continued to be served.

"You must have had a good reason," Piper says convinced that she is a good person and that there must be an explanation. What she receives is anything but.

"Yeah...I wanted to bang my neighbor across the street." She says with a snort.

"Who, I might add just lost her husband. So how's that for a bitchy reason." She finishes with a smile and lays her head down on the table.

After a moment, Nora lifts her head back up, but the smile is gone. Instead, her eyes are red and bloodshot, tears streaming down her face, unable to make eye contact with either of her friends at the table. 

"He hit me..." Nora's lip is quivering while she relives some of her memories, and jumps a little when Piper takes a hold of her hand but doesn't pull away.

"It had only happened once before he left but I wasn't going to stand for it. I did everything that they tell you to do. Reported it, told his superiors, told family, but no one believed me." Her face is now serious and she wipes away the tears angrily.

"I was told that he wouldn't hurt a fly. Guess in his eyes I was less than that then?" She tries to smile at Piper who refuses to let go of her hand and then tells a joke.

"Wonder how he'd do against a blowfly then?" But she only upsets herself further and the sob that escapes her gains the attention of the other patrons.

"I was going to leave him...had my bags packed and I was going to wait until he got home, but my family convinced me to try and work it out. They said that he may have been under a lot of stress and he didn't mean it." Nora says the last part with contempt in her voice. She looks at the drink in front of her contemplating her words and drinks the shot and then continues.

"Then I got the news that he had been injured in combat. I mean what was I supposed to do then?" She throws her hands up and looks for an answer that isn't there. Piper had been through a lot in her life but nothing like Blue was explaining and she feels horrible about how this conversation is going. Piper looks to Nick for guidance but all the detective can do is shrug his shoulders and indicates to let her finish.

She continued on and told her two companions how the abuse got worse when he got home since he was mad about his injury, and drank heavily after he got back. He had to walk with the assistance of crutches so Nora was able to stay away for the most part, but then he became verbally abusive. Then came the call that Nora had been waiting for. There was a baby ready to be adopted and all they had to do was sign the papers and they'd be parents. Nora was elated but scared at the same time. Unable to have her own, she had wanted a child for so long that it was all she thought about until Nate hurt her. Shaun became secondary, but it all came flooding back once she answered that call. At that moment she was put in a situation that she never thought she'd be in, but eventually had a long talk with Nate and they agreed that he would stop drinking, they'd get counseling, and they adopted Shaun soon after. Everything was fine for a while, but Nora was always nervous that he would go back to his old ways, and she made the decision to leave with their child, but then the bombs fell which brings them here.

She pauses for a moment to let everything she had said sink in, to not only her friends but herself as well, closes her eyes and a smile forms.

"Fuck him!" Nora yells and gains the attention of the entire bar.

"He can't hurt you anymore," Piper says waving a dismissive hand to anyone who is looking. "No one is going to as long as I can help it." Piper finishes and for the first time, that night feels Blue squeeze her hand back.

She brings the reporters delicate but calloused hand to her mouth and kisses the back of it.

"That's sweat Piper, but you forgot one thing."

"What's that?" She asks, enjoying the sensation and the fact that Blue is smiling again all be it oddly, having Piper wish she had a camera and a holotape to record all of this.

"It's 2287, we live in the Commonwealth, and everything is trying to kill us." She says like it is the most obvious thing in the world.

That earns a much-needed laugh from both woman and another downed shot of whiskey by the pre-war relic.

"Har har har. You're hilarious."

"I mean seriously Piper, the Mosquitos you guys have could... could probably carry me away if they wanted to, fuckers are huge..." Nora says and flaps her hands like a bird, nearly falling off of her chair. She collects herself and looks directly into Pipers eyes as much as she can when she says her next statement.

"Thank you, for having my back and being there when I need it the most. The both of you. It really means a lot."

"No thanks, necessary."

There is a long pause in the conversation and a few more whiskeys consumed until Nick finally speaks up.

"So, is any part of the story about your neighbor true?"

"Really Nick?" Piper rolls her eyes at the detective's question.

"You should be curious too, Piper." He says with a small smirk aimed at the reporter who turns crimson. "So is it?"

"Abso-fucking-lutly! She was hot." Blue drags out the last word for effect. 

"She would have loooooved you there Nicky, freaky yellow eyes and all." Nora leans in and motions for Nick to do the same.

"Don't tell Piper this but they could have been twins." She says nodding her head. "Defi...Def...Pipers fucking hot too."

"Okay, I think we've all had enough." Piper stands up quickly and nearly knocks the table over, which embarrasses her even more.

They finally got Nora up to their room, and Nick kept watch while the two woman slept. Not that Piper could sleep much with Blues words running through her head. The next morning came too quickly for everyone, and after Nora recovered she apologized profusely for making an ass of herself and hoped she didn't say anything inappropriate. She was told no rather quickly by Piper before Nick could chime in, but Nora still had more to get off of her chest. She went on to say that when Kellogg died Nora expected to feel better about it, but it didn't help yet she wouldn't change a thing. She avenged Nate's death and even though he was abusive he tried to protect Shaun and didn't deserve to die. She continued on and said that she was one step closer to finding Shaun, and all killing the man who took her son did was make her numb to the pain; for a short time anyway. Both Nick and Piper had told her to take her time and they'd be there for her, and to concentrate on something to take her mind off of things. So she chose to help some people around the Commonwealth, Diamond City, and Goodneighbor.

Preston was constantly telling her about settlements that needed her help, plus Nick had a pile of old cases he needed to solve and by the time she was done a month had gone by and it was Christmas. Seeing Diamond City decorated in what used to be her favorite time of year, bothered Nora to no end, so she went out on her own and found herself again at Goodneighbors doorstep. She was about to continue her quest when something grabbed her attention, and her search for Shaun was again put on hold once more. Apparently, there was some pour ghoul from Goodneighbor who wanted to recreate an old radio detective show from before the war in order to clean up the Commonwealth. Nora had known of the radio show, much to Piper's delight as she was able to tease Blue at length when she became none other than the Silver Shroud.

"You have to let me see you in that costume." Piper was nearly bouncing up and down with excitement when she saw the costume in Blue's hands after she returned from Goodneighbor.

Both Nat and Piper tried to convince her to stay for the holiday but the lone Vault 111 survivor wanted nothing to do with it even though she was appreciative.

Blue was trying to hold back her smile, but the reporter’s mood was infectious.

"Do I have to?" She had wined until she saw the look Piper was giving her.

With her sad puppy dog eyes, batting lashes, and pouting lips caused Nora's mouth to suddenly go dry and her brain to forget how to speak.

"Please.” Piper was making this extremely difficult to say no to.

"It really isn't for me, but Nat would love to see a war relic wear prewar relic clothing." She giggled a little at that last part, and her words convinced Nora that this was probably just a ploy to make fun of her, again.

"Fine, fine," Nora says walking past the clapping reporter to move into the back of Publick Occurrences so she could change.

"But you need to stop doing that."

"Why whatever do you mean, Blue?" Piper responds in the most innocent voice Nora has ever heard.

"You know exactly what I mean. That, what you're doing now. That look and the way you're talking to me. You're literally charming the pants right off of me Ms. Wright." Nora jokes while pulling her pants off which earns a nervous chuckle from the Publick Occurrences reporter, and continues while she changes.

"Geez, the next thing you know I'll be proposing and buying you the Commonwealth." Piper was glad that Blue couldn't see her surprised expression. They had become close friends in a short amount of time, but Piper began to notice certain things about Blue, minus the whole night at the Third Rail.

It was small subtle things, but they were there none the less. They had spent the most amount of time together out amongst the Commonwealth, begun to hold hands while walking, and Nora was becoming closer to Nat with each day that passed. She made it a point to pick something up for her each time they went out and always sought Piper's permission before doing so. Piper even noticed her staring a little longer and it would bring about a smile to both of their faces, and a red glow to Nora's after being caught.

Initially, she thought it was just Blue's friendly nature, but the flirting seemed to happen on a regular basis, and just with her. Not that the Diamond City reporter was put off by it, in fact, she found it nice, but just unexpected.

"Hey Piper, could you come here for a minute? I need your opinion on something." Blue's voice shakes Piper from her thoughts and she finishes her cigarette, stands up from her couch, and heads to the back of her home.  

"Nat is going to be so excited to see you- oh my God! Blue what are you wearing?!" Piper asks with wide eyes, face turning as red as her coat. She had been expecting her to be completely covered in a full suit, but what she sees is anything but.

"Do you like? I found it when I picked up the Silver Shroud outfit. I can't believe they had this Grognak costume just lying around." Nora comes out from the back dressed in the other Pre war costume she picked up that doesn't cover much, and leaves little to the imagination.

"I always wondered if I could pull it off and look half as good as the girls who wore it, but..." She pauses as she looks down at the costume, and then back up to Piper who is doing her best not to look.

"So, what do you think?" Blue felt pretty good when she put it on and wanted to see what Piper thought, but the Publick Occurrences reporter seems to be having a hard time looking at her.

"Piper, you okay?" Nora can see how red in the face Piper is and it continues to get worse with each time she looks her way.

"Sorry, I'll go change." Blues smile fades and a look of disappointment replaces it as she turns around and heads into the back.

She didn't mean to make her feel uncomfortable but really wanted her opinion and wonders if it is just as she thought, and she's not meant to wear something like this.

"You look amazing." Piper finally finds her voice, and Nora stops and turns around again.

Blue looked hurt when she didn't say anything, but Piper was too busy trying to get certain images out of her head when she saw what Blue was wearing. Even though the images are still fresh in Piper's mind she wants to make sure that she didn't offend her friend, but Nora seems to think that she did something wrong.

"I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable at all."

"No, you didn't, trust me." Piper interrupts. "It was just unexpected, but you look incredible. You always do."

* * *

  **March 9, 2287**

Piper stops writing to reflect on that time and smiles at her memories. It wasn't that long ago that their relationship was slowly progressing into more than just friends. The words "You're perfect for me" still brings a warm feeling to her each time she thinks about them. It was one of the most heartwarming things anyone had ever said to her and in that instant, she knew she wanted nothing more than to be with the Vault dweller who survived the Great War.

It had been the first time she was left speechless, but not that last, but none of these memories are helping her now. Nothing that she has written is getting her any closer to finding Blue. It's only reminding her of the good times they have had; times that may become distant memories if they don't find her.

Standing to stretch, Piper sighs at the lack of progress and light as the sun sets on another day. She was hoping to get more done, but time is not on her side. She plans on going out with the search parties first wave to look for Nora, so she decides to call it a night. She takes one last look out at the horizon and notices something in the distance. Sitting at the base of the statue leading into Sanctuary is a person.

Piper looks around to see if there is anyone else hiding as she moves to go investigate. It's dark, she's not wearing any armor, plus she is alone, so this isn't the smartest idea. But she can't think of any of Nora's rules that apply in this instance other than don't get yourself killed. But she moves towards this person anyway, as they may be another settler looking for a home.

As she gets closer she notices a few things and her pace quickens. Hair color, clothing, a lit cigarette in one hand, a bottle of whiskey in the other, all point to one person in particular. Piper doesn't want to get her hopes up, but once she is standing in front of the woman who is staring blankly at the ground she has no doubt who it is.

"Blue?" She calls to her lover and her lips curl up into a relieved smile.

She says her name a couple of more times with no response, each time moving forward.

"Nora?" Piper finally gains the woman's attention when she kneels down in front of her. Piper looks over every inch of her lovers face and a stray thought moves through her mind because of the reaction that she is getting, and that this may not be her Blue. This may be a synth sent to replace her. She slowly reaches for her pistol when Nora finally realizes that Piper is there and throws her arms around the Diamond City reporter, nearly squeezing the life from her.

"I'm so glad you're alright. We've been looking everywhere for you." Piper feels a little relief now, but when she gets no response, Piper asks her directly.

"Nora, where have you been for the past three days?" She lifts her head from Blues shoulder to look her in the eye. Tears begin to fall down her cheeks since Nora's never acted like this, they've always been able to talk, but the look on her face is scaring her.

After a moment she gets a response. Blue kisses Piper on the cheek and the reporter can feel the warmth of tears that are streaming down her lovers face. Piper can now feel Nora cry as she begins to shake. hold Piper tighter, and grab onto the back of her shirt while she sobs uncontrollably.

Piper is trying to comfort her lover, and hold onto her, giving her as much support as she needs, but she wants an answer to her question.

"What happened there?"

There are some questions in life that you will not like the answer you receive, especially if you are someone who can remember every moment.

"It was all an experiment! Just one giant fucking experiment to get the perfect race of synths." Blue words are muffled slightly since she is still holding onto Piper still and speaking into her shoulder but Piper can hear everything she is saying.

"I was a test too. That's the best part. I was thawed out to see if I could survive in the Commonwealth and possibly find my son. Oh, and its been sixty years not ten."

And it is at this moment that Piper wishes she didn't have this ability and could forget everything that her lover is now sharing. Piper already had an image of what awful atrocities that Blue had to go through, and most were embellishments on her part. But now she has a clear vision of the horrors that are the Institute, and it is worse than she could ever imagine.

 

 

 

 

 


	6. "We know more about war than about peace, more about killing than about living." Omar Nelson Bradley

**March 9, 2288**

Over the past few months, Piper and Blue have made many lasting memories. Some good, some not, but most of them have made an impact on the Diamond City reporters life in one way or another. Whether it's building a settlement so people have a roof over their heads, a bed to sleep on, and a place they can finally call home, Piper and Blue have been there. Even something as small as planting one crop so the settlers have food in their stomach, or setting up a water system for clean water, the reporter from Diamond City and the Vault 111 survivor are teaching people how to make it on their own out in the Commonwealth, and Piper has been in awe of it all. But then there is the other side where the Raiders, Gunners, and Super Mutants have wreaked havoc across the once thriving city, and the two companions have fought back every step of the way. It has been a struggle, but even the not so good memories of having to kill someone are just one step closer to rebuilding the Commonwealth.

Even the more comical memories that should not have been that funny-more like insane-that includes Blue returning a death claw egg to its mother all while trying not to pee herself, wondering if they were going to get eaten, Piper was there. Becoming the Silver Shroud or a member of the alley cats and "speaking" in the oddest of voices that made the reporter tilt her head to the side and stare at Blue in amused bewilderment as Blue tells complete strangers that the only cat that's in her is the one she cooked the night before. But they've all had lasting effects.

One memory in particular that has made Piper's life happy yet miserable is the most recent one where Blue has returned from the Institute. The fact that she returned in one piece and seemingly unharmed is a blessing after three days, but it's the emotional toll on Nora that has Piper the most worried.

Blue has always had a quiet side to her. One where she can say nothing for hours while she observes others, and ponders over numerous thoughts at one time. She could sit on the balcony of their home in Sanctuary and look out over the horizon while holding Piper and not have a care or say a thing and it'd be okay.  

Now is one of those times where she is looking straight ahead, not saying anything, but it is for a different reason. She is mulling over a question Piper is now feeling guilty about asking her since she's only looked at a spot on the floor, and nowhere else. It was asked some-time ago and the Vault 111 survivor is acting like she doesn't know how to answer it.

"Are you sure it was really Shaun?"

It should have been an easy answer and in any other circumstance, it would have been. All other scenarios had her child just as he should be, and not a sixty-year-old man, but the baby she remembers. But nothing is what it seems, as Blue is finding out more and more throughout the Commonwealth. She has been discussing her time at the Institute and what she had seen and done with Piper and the members of the Minutemen. Surprisingly, Piper hadn't said much up until her question, just standing behind the seated vault dweller and offering her support. Blue had been vague with most of the details but would give Piper a look that let the reporter know that they'd discuss it later even though she did not ask anything. Most of the questions have been easy to answer, such as what was it like, what did you see, and were any of the people there human or were they all synths. Now is different though. Now she actually has to give thought to her answer and realize that depending on what she says will change the course of how they should proceed.

"I've been asking myself that since I met the man who claimed to be my son." Nora finally answers and catches a few people off guard, thinking she wasn't going to answer.

"I begged, and pleaded for them to bring me, Shaun. I screamed, threatened. I even tortured someone..." The last sentence nearly screamed through gritted teeth, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looks at her lover, waiting to be judged. 

"But none of it worked." Blue turns back to look at the floor, unable to meet anyone's gaze.

"I met so many different people while I was there, and they are either extremely good at lying or my son..." She pauses, takes a deep breath, and swallows down her emotions before she continues.

"Or my son is actually a sixty-year-old man and in charge of the Institute."

Piper squeezes Blue's shoulder to show support all while trying to figure out what part of that answer breaks her heart the most. She feels a hand squeeze back in return for the first time since they have been sitting in the armory of Sanctuary, discussing Blues adventure, and is happy that she is reaching out to her. Piper looks down and sees tired, desperate, bloodshot eyes looking back, and gives a nod and a caring smile.

"I think that's enough for tonight," Piper says and leads Blue towards the door. Everyone needs to get some sleep and maybe continue with the questions tomorrow, so no one objects as they leave. No sooner are they out of the door and under the night sky when they find themselves being called for by Preston to stop for a moment. 

"It's good to see you back General." He says shaking her hand and looks at Piper when he asks his question.

"Just wanted to know where that nuke was that we gave you?" Nora motions to her bag that she removes from her shoulder, and hands to the man in front of her.

"Sturges says he can modify it with a remote detonator that has a substantial range, and attach it to your Pipboy." He says and walks away after Piper nods in appreciation. "If you ever want to proceed with the plan."

She nods and turns to head home, wrapping her arm around Piper while thoughts of the past few days replay. It's not until the two reach their door does she realize why Garvey had looked to Piper when asked about the bomb.

"Christ Piper, I am so sorry." Nora stops short and lets go of Piper's hand, and focuses on the ground, too ashamed to look at her.

The anguish in Blue's expression and voice make it seem like she'd crumble if one more thing went wrong in her life, and this would be her undoing. 

"It's okay." Piper tries to console her, pulling her in for an embrace, but the Vault 111 survivor continues to try and explain her actions, and more importantly the letter.

"You don't have to explain Blue." Pipers voice is gentle and Nora decides that out of everything that she has missed the most, it's been this; being held by Piper, and listening to her voice.

"I understand why you did what you did. I was upset, yes, but I understand." She kisses Blue on her lips to quiet any rebuttal, but mainly because she missed kissing her.

"Let's go upstairs, get you out of this suit- that I'm assuming is theirs since nothing is that clean, and no one wears white around here." Piper refers to the pristine jumpsuit that Blue came home in.

"I have to say though, you do look good in white, but I much rather you in that Grognak outfit." Nora's expression since she has returned has been darker than Piper has ever seen, so she tries to lighten her girl's somber mood, and gets a forced smile and a small chuckle in return, but she'll take any reaction she can get.

"Can you promise me something?" Nora's voice is barely above a whisper and her gaze is anywhere but on Piper. She is nervous and Piper can only imagine what must be going through Blues mind.

"Anything." There is a moment of silence and Blue tightening her grip around Piper's waist that causes the reporter to worry that much more.

"Talk to me, please." Piper places two fingers under her chin in an attempt to gain her attention. It works for a moment, and they lock eyes for the first time all night, but then she gets a slight peak at what Blue has been dealing with.

"For the past two days I've woken up alone and scared that I'd never see you again," Nora admits and tightens her hold on the reporter while a lump forms in her throat.

"I don't think I can sleep tonight if I can't feel you next to me. I'm too afraid that I'll wake up and you'll be gone and I'll be back there..." 

"You're not going anywhere and neither am I." She kisses her lover's soft lips to interrupt her, and wipes away the moisture that has formed around her eyes, but can still feel the tension in her body. 

"How do you know they won't just come for me in the middle of the night and take me away?" Blue is beginning to sound like the rest of the paranoid people in the Commonwealth when talking about the Institute. 

"Because I won't let them have you. You're mine and I don't share well with others." That answer finally brings out Blue's playful side and she taps Piper on her ass and places a thankful kiss on her forehead.

They finally make it up to their room and get into bed together. Blue crawls into the waiting arms of Piper and soon is reveling in the soft kisses on her jawline, admissions of how much Piper has missed her being whispered into Blue's ear, Pipers arm snaking around her waist, and fingers finding their normal spot. She begins to caress the soft skin under the elastic of her shorts just below her stomach and watches as Blue's eyes start to close.

Piper smiles and leans in and kisses Blue on her neck just below her ear, a sensitive spot, that brings a smile to Blues lips and a low hum of approval, but soon her eyes are shut, breathing levels, and the tension slowly starts to fade as sleep claims her lover. Content with just observing the woman she is holding, Piper breaths in a sigh of relief that she is back where she belongs, but a moment of dread overtakes her as thoughts of Blues nightmares becoming reality starts to take hold. She stares out of the window of their room into the night, knowing that the Commonwealths boogeyman are still out there, and now they know where Nora is, so sleep will not be so easy for the Diamond City reporter. But that is okay, she is content with keeping a watchful eye over the woman she loves and be there for her when she wakes because the only thing that matters now is that Blue is safe, and she is home.

 

* * *

**January 15, 2288**

"Bitch nuts!" Blue yells and kicks at a piece of debris in the road, frustrated over recent events.

Piper looks over at her companion with wide eyes and a bewildered smile, wondering where some of her sayings come from. Then Piper has to stifle a laugh while she watches the woman have a heated conversation with herself.

"So Blue, how many power armor suits have you ruined so far?" Piper asks after Blue finishes her one-sided discussion. Her smile grows after Nora's head snaps up to look back at the reporter in annoyance. Piper quickly focuses back on the road ahead after it is clear that Nora is not in the joking mood as they walk back to Diamond City from their latest run-in with Raiders that had been bothering a settlement.

It had been a tough battle in the close-quartered Hardware Town building, and too many close calls for either of them to have witnessed, so they both feel lucky to have left unscathed. They were able to clear it out and hopefully secure it well enough so no one occupies it again, and are now looking forward to much-needed rest for a while.

"You still have yours don't you?" Comes a slightly irritated and defensive answer after a few moments of silence, but Piper knows it isn't necessarily aimed at her and can hear the semi-playful tone in her voice.

"Besides, it's irrelevant how many I've gone through since I can fix them...most of the time." She says the last part as quiet as possible but Piper can hear it all.

It seems that luck is not on Blues side when it comes to keeping a set of power armor for more than a few firefights. The Diamond City reporter has been witness to most of the leftover carnage that goes from a highly modified and pristine looking set of armor to a pile of metal and a twisted frame that Nora barely escapes from. Since the vault 111 survivor has been unharmed in most instances is why Piper is able to keep it between the two of them but picks on her relentlessly in private. This latest time, however, is getting to Piper, and she does not want to see Blue hurt.

"Yes I do still have my armor, but only because I don't try and block missiles with my face, cause you think nothing can hurt you when you're in your armor." Piper had watched helplessly as a Raider fired four missiles at Nora and three of them hit her, causing a massive explosion around her.

Piper screamed when she saw this happen and proceeded to shoot everything that moved. Even after she ran over and found that Nora was alright her nerves were shot the rest of the day, they still are.

"And it is relevant since you're costing us caps and supplies."

"Oh, so it's "us" now. I see."

"Just promise me you'll be more careful," Piper says ignoring Blues previous comment.

"Yes, Mom."

"Dammit Blue, I'm serious!" Piper yells and stops in her tracks, realizing where they are, hoping no one heard her.

"Come here." Blue takes Piper's armored hands in her own, pulls her into an alley off of the street and looks her in the eyes.

"Look at me." Blue tugs on her hands to get her attention.

She can see moisture build up at the corners of her eyes since her helmet is off, and knows that now is not the time for jokes. Blue puts herself in Piper shoes and can only imagine how upset she'd be if anything were to happen to the reporter who always has her back.

"I'll be more careful. Okay?" Seeing Piper's expression turn from scared frustration to some sort of relief brings a smile to Blues face, and they continue walking back to Diamond City for a drink and a bath.

"I still can't believe you actually wore that outfit underneath your armor." Piper unintentionally says out loud. She tries to stop the blush from creeping up her cheeks when she looks at the Grognak outfit that her companion is fitting into quite nicely, but it is her favorite outfit for a reason. 

The reporter's eyes went wide after she opened the ruined suit and Nora was left standing in the skimpy outfit. She's been trying to get a better view of her with quick peaks, but up until now, she has only been able to catch side glances of Blues tan skin and toned body, since they are walking next to each other. But Blue has now taken lead for Piper's perfect viewing pleasure, almost as if she knows Piper is looking. Each time she looks at a certain spot on the woman, who's hips seem to be swaying a little more, an image comes to mind of what the rest of Blue looks like.

She need not think about it too much since she can see nearly everything, and what she can see is giving her enough images to turn her skin a dark red, and she feels like a teenager with a crush, but it's more than that. From her auburn colored hair that would feel amazing to run her hands through, to her strong shoulders and arms that she imagines would hold her tight as they kiss, to her smooth skin that curves down to a swaying waist as she walks that the reporter could hold onto and pull her close. Then run her hands lower to the swell of her...

"Hey, Piper?" The reporter's thoughts are interrupted by Blue calling her name for some reason.

"My eyes are up here." She points to her face as Piper looks up and laughs as the reporter's face goes as red as a tato. 

She wishes she could sink down into her power armor especially after what she says next.

"I told you I'd be wearing your favorite outfit when you'd least expect it," Blue says with a playful smile, loving the fact that now it is her turn to tease the reporter.

Spinning on her heels, Nora lets out a chuckle and walks to the end of the alley while looking over her shoulder to try and catch Piper staring some more. The two companions have grown close over the past few months and each time Blue thinks of the reporter her stomach flutters, her lips curl up into a smile, and her heart skips a beat. Nora knows that they've only known each other for a short time and the strong feelings she has for Piper shouldn't make any sense, but they are there, and they are real. She only hopes that Piper feels the same way, and it's more than just flirting.

Nora pushes those thoughts away for another time when they aren't walking around the Commonwealth where everything is trying to kill them and reaches the end of the alley. She holds a hand up for her embarrassed companion to stop while she checks the surrounding area then turns to face Piper after she sees that it is clear, so she can tease her some more, and takes a step back.

"Maybe next time I'll wear something with a little less..."

The next few moments will be ingrained in Piper's memories for the rest of her days. The look of fear on Nora's face after she hears the click of the mines arming and the scream for Piper to get back is something she will never forget. Neither will the explosion that sends crimson colored rock and debris everywhere knocking them both over. It only lasted a second but the look of fear for Piper's safety, the sound of the mines going off, and the scream of pain from the woman she cares deeply for lasts longer for Piper, and she is frozen for a moment. It's not until her vision clears and reality sets in that the blood that she is now covered in isn't hers that she realizes that Blue is hurt, badly. Piper has witnessed death before, been up close to it, especially when her father was murdered, but seeing Blue like this, witnessing what an explosion does to the human body, is something she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy. 

"No!" Piper screams and can't get out of her armor fast enough. After the latch releases, and the back opens she is by her friends side immediately, frantically looking for a stimpak when she finds them all destroyed by the blast.

"Is it bad?" A question is asked in between gasps of air, but the reporter refuses to look down at her legs since she can see the damage done to the buildings and the small crater in the ground that was left by the mines. 

Piper knows that Nora will bleed to death if she does not do something, but she can't bring herself to look. Fear has washed over the Diamond City reporter. Fear that the woman that she has grown so fond of is going to die in her arms and she is helpless to do anything about it. It has taken hold of her and she is now paralyzed because of it.

Instead, she focuses on wiping the matted hair away from her face and focus on her eyes through her own tears while she offers false hope.

"You're going to be okay Blue. Just hold on. Please." She has heard all types of gut-wrenching screams before from dying Raiders and Gunners, and some have bothered her.But it is nothing like hearing someone you care about cry out in agony and you're helpless to do anything about it.

The injured woman smiles and reaches to caress Pipers face which she leans into, takes with her own hand and kisses it, finally looking down at her wounds. She has to push past the gory sight before her, so she can save her friend. She takes off her shirt and tries to stop the bleeding, but everywhere she touches causes Nora to scream out in pain, and her shirt is now crimson.

"Goddammit!" She screams. "I can't get it to stop." Piper pulls Blue up and begins to sob, and apologizes over and over, but hears Blue whisper to her.

"It's okay." Piper can hear how difficult it is for Nora to breathe, but she is hell-bent on saying these next few words.

"Just take care of Nat...she needs a good role model to follow." Piper continues to plead for her to hold on as she tries to pull away and attempt to stop the bleeding, but Nora holds her in place.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Pipers attention is now focused solely on Nora and for a moment she looks and acts like her normal self. She no longer looks pale, and her breathing has returned to normal, but what she says next is what keeps her attention on the Vault Dweller.

"For being your beautiful self, for being more than a friend. For being perfect for me, and help me see past all the misery and showing me that I could fall..." A deep breath, a pained look, and a fit of coughing as Blues body arches and reality comes back full force. 

"I love you". Is said and a final kiss on the cheek is what Piper is left with as the body in her arms becomes limp. 

"No!" She shakes the woman to try and wake her up.

"Please no." Piper pulls her up and begs that this is all just a nightmare.

"You can't say that to me then die!"

"You can't!" She screams so loud that her voice hurts and she lies Nora down, hitting her in the chest so hard she swears she hears a bone break. But she doesn't care. Here is this woman who was bleeding everywhere, who just moments ago told her she loves her and is now looking back at her with lifeless crystal blue eyes.

Piper is left all alone until she hears footsteps.

Her instincts take over and she grabs Blues revolver from its holster, and in one smooth motion she is now pointing it at whoever is trying to sneak up on her.

"Get the fuck back!" Her hand is shaking but knows if she fires she'd turn this person heart into dust; fitting.

"Whoa lady, I'm just here to help." This kid, who is no older than Nat, holds up a stimpak which Piper quickly snatches and injects into Blues thigh.

The healing properties of these creations have always fascinated Piper and she wonders how they are able to work so quickly. They were created so long ago yet they've saved so many lives, but this one doesn't seem to be doing anything and Piper notices that Blue isn't waking up.

"It's not working. Why isn't it working?" Piper becomes frantic again until the boy speaks up.

"Because she's not breathing, and you need to get her heart started."

Piper immediately begins to try and breath life back into her friend. She'd only ever read a journal about CPR once before, but it stuck with her when she thought about coming home and finding Nat not breathing and unresponsive. Thankfully she's never had to use it until now but thanks the person who wrote the article.

She checks for a pulse that isn't there and pushes down on Blues chest to get her heart beating again while the boy who came out of nowhere injects her with something else, and begins to wrap her legs together. Piper knows that this is the last resort and is trying to hold it together but the only movement from the woman she loves is from the compressions she is doing.

She'd give anything for an electric charge that was in that medical journal as her muscles in her arms are tiring, and it seemed to work better than what she is doing, but she continues. She continues for the work that isn't finished that they started, she continues on because there is still so much to do, and Piper can't do it alone; she won't do it alone. The Diamond City reporter isn't going to give up but a hand on her arm stops her, and she can't help the cry of anguish that follows. The realization that the woman who means everything to her is gone is too much to deal with.

Blue was fine not two minutes ago and now the only person besides her sister that mattered is gone, and for no other reason besides the Commonwealth decided it was her time; she'd done too much good and that was all that this godforsaken place would allow. Or was it...

"Piper?"

A familiar voice breaks her from her thoughts and she looks down to see Blue's light blue eyes staring back at her. Another cry escapes Piper but this time it's a cry of joy, a cry of relief. Blue is breathing and awake, all be it still in pain.

"Jesus, did I get hit by a bus?" She asks in between labored breaths, and Piper squeezing her.

Brushing the reporter's black hair from her eyes as she consoles the visibly shaking woman who just saved her, Nora looks up to see a boy who is busy cutting pieces of cloth, wrapping them around two pieces of wood, and glancing every now and then at the women he is walking around.

"Hello. What's your name?" Stopping the young boy smiles sheepishly at Nora, and allows Piper to answer for him.

"He saved your life," Piper says thankfully, her voice quivering.

"Well thank you." Nora tries to move to a sitting position and instantly regrets it.

"You need to lie back. Your wounds are extensive." The boy speaks up finally and instructs Piper to roll Blue on her side and slides the makeshift stretcher under Nora so they can lift her.

"My father is a doctor, and right around the corner. We must move quickly, it's getting dark and it's not safe. Plus, father worries."

The walk to the boys home was marred in silence other than the heavy footfalls of Piper's power armor. The reporter is carrying the homemade stretcher closest to her feet and even though Nora can feel Piper staring at her through her helmet she knows that Piper hasn't been able to look lower than Nora's face even though her wounds have begun to heal. They finally arrive at a waiting and a nervous man who is a ghoul has apparently set up his office in an abandoned building nearby to Diamond City.

His son, whose name is Jake, explains to his father the extent of Nora's injuries and gives a warm, albeit leery, smile to Piper as he tells her that she will need surgery to remove any shrapnel, but Nora should recover. Exiting her power armor after she thanks the man for him and his son's help, Piper takes the clean shirt that is offered to her and walks outside. She lights a cigarette to try and calm her nerves and closes her eyes and thanks whatever God is out there that her friend was sparred today. She begins to feel a little relief, but the blood that is on her hands reminds her of what just happened, and she begins to shake again.

Hearing footsteps, Piper turns to see the young boy who helped her, walk to her and hand her a bottle.

"Father said you may need this."

She nods her head and takes a drink and is thankful that it is alcohol and not water. He then hands her a wet rag to clean up with and she sits down on the chair that's outside the door of the make-shift doctor office.

"Thank you." Piper finally says to the boy who smiles back in return.

"You didn't have to help my friend but you did, so thank you." She hands him all of the caps she has in her pocket, takes another drink, and tries to keep her emotions at bay while her thoughts return to earlier and what was said.

"Yes, I did." The boy replies, gaining the reporters attention. "My father and I have been doing this since before the war and we both took an oath to help those in need no matter what."

Piper mulls over his words for a moment and then looks at the boy in amazement.

"You mean you're a doctor too?"

"I'm a lot older than I look." Is the answer he gives and turns to go back in before stopping short to tell Piper that his father would like to see her.

"And I've had a lot of practice."

"I bet." She nods, takes another long drag from her cigarette, a few more sips of whiskey to prepare herself for what she may see, and follows the young man who she will be forever indebted too.

"Your friend suffered heavy damage to her legs and one side of her body, but the stimpak is helping. I was able to remove most of the debris and shrapnel but she should stay off her legs as much as she can for at least a couple of weeks."

Piper listens carefully and nods at each instruction given, refusing to look at the damage that she caused. She distracted Blue and disarming the bombs, what would have normally been an easy thing to do, was missed, and it is her fault.

"You saved her you know?" The doctor tells her as he hands her a cloth to wipe away the tears that are flowing down her cheek. He continues upon seeing the woman in front of him shaking her head no.

"We would have never heard any of it if you hadn't screamed. We didn't even hear the blast, and you did everything you could with what you had, so yes you saved her." The man says convincingly and looks at her until her face shows that she is no longer silently berating herself.

He walks away to leave her to her thoughts so he can get cleaned up and give her some supplies when Piper realizes at the last minute that she hadn't thanked him. She moves to follow but a hand brushes against her own in an attempt to stop her, and it works as Piper freezes.

"Hey, Piper?" The familiar, all be it weak call to her from the woman she held in her arms and watch die erases everything that the doctor just said to her. 

"Going my way?" Piper is barely able to speak, and what she says next brings her back to what could have been Blue's last words. I love you.

"Always."

She finally looks down and sees the extent of the damage, an inhales sharply. The once smooth skin that had made up her legs is now full of indentations where the damage was. She reaches down to place a gentle shaking hand over her leg but pulls it away, not wanting to her hurt Blue any further.

"It's alright Piper," Blue says sternly. "You didn't cause this. You saved me, and don't ever think otherwise." Nora waits until Piper finally looks her in the eyes, and it brings a smile to her face.

Pulling on her hand that she never wants to let go of, so Piper comes closer, Nora reaches up and runs her fingers through the reporters silky black hair, bringing her in for a gentle kiss. Piper pulls back after a moment, breathless, mouth open and Nora is pleased that her lips are softer than she imagined.

"I meant what I said before." This shakes Piper from her thoughts and she swallows hard, eyes nervously searching each inch of Blues face. 

"I love you, Piper Wright."

 

 


	7. "There are no innocent civilians" Harold Agnew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the support with this. As you may have seen, I have been busy with some one shots that revolve around my sole survivor and this story. I've really enjoyed doing them, but I wanted to get this chapter finished. 
> 
> Thanks again.

**March 10, 2288**

Nora can't remember a time when she has slept so soundly. Before the war, before Shaun, she had always been a light sleeper, and it seemed like every noise would wake her up. Whether it was her slight fear of thunderstorms, that really doesn't help her now at all, to a slight bump in the night, or having to deal with one of Nate's drunken tirades, she isn't sure of the reason. All Blue knows is that she has been lucky while out in the Commonwealth because of it.

But now her rest was needed, and she knows the reason for her perfect slumber, and that is Piper. It's the same woman who has consoled her multiple times during the many thunderstorms that happen throughout the Commonwealth. The same Piper Wright who has an arm draped over her stomach, while her hand finds its normal spot, and fingers lazily brush against her lower abdomen, driving Blue crazy. She is the same person whose body is pressed into her own while a steady warm breath blows across her ear, indicating that the woman she loves is still sleeping. And more than likely it is the same woman, Diamond City reporter, and her lover, that is the reason why there is a good amount of drool now in her hair, which may be disgusting, but Blue doesn't care. She wants all of Piper, and everything that she is, and if that means having her hair matted to the back of her head because the woman she loves drools in her sleep then so be it; Piper protected her and made her feel safe.

Blue leans into the comfort that Piper is affording her, closes her eyes, and takes the reporter's hand in her own and kisses it. Nora hasn't felt this content in a while and hopes that they can just stay here all day. She intertwines her leg with the reporters, caresses a smooth toned thigh, and hears a slight hum from her lover. 

"Hey doll face." Nora smiles at the term and turns over when she feels Piper begin to stir. Her raspy voice has always been enchanting, but it is even more so when Piper first wakes up.

Blue laughs a little when she sees the reporter crack one eye open through disheveled hair and huffs in response to the light of the new day coming in through the window.

"Ugh...Do we have to get up?" Piper turns her head into the pillow to block out the morning light but returns her focus when Blue runs a hand through her hair.                        

"No." Blue pushes a strand away from her eyes so she can see her face fully. A beautiful smile appears after a gentle kiss is placed on her lips, which causes the reporter to hum softly.

"We can lay here all day," Nora says and pulls the blanket up over the both of them, content with holding each other, quietly enjoying the moment.

"What about Shaun?" Piper asks sleepily after some time passes, but doesn't notice the change in Blue's demeanor.

"I don't want to go back there Piper," Blue says sternly, and after a moment she can see Piper wake up fully with a questioning stare.

"I just need some time to get past what happened." The change in her demeanor is alarming, to say the least. Piper has never heard or seen her lover like this before, nor has she seen the petrified expression staring back at her. Add this all up and it makes Piper wonder just what the fuck happened down there.

"We won't go anywhere that you don't want to Blue, okay?" The reporter says softly while looking at every inch of Blue's face. Satisfied with just a nod, and scared eyes that are now showing signs of relief, Piper begins to think about the night before, and everything that Blue had said. The Diamond City reporter goes over all of it, and one answer sticks out from all of the rest.

"You want to talk about what happened?" Nora's expression turns from relief, to fear, to anger, in a matter of a few moments, and then she rolls back over to her original position. Piper pulls her tighter and kisses her cheek awaiting an answer that she's not sure she wants to hear, but Blue needs all the support she can give her.

"Christ Piper, I tortured someone." Piper understands why she turned away from her and can feel Blue's body tense up at the admission. She is trying to pull away from the love that the reporter is giving but Piper won't let her.

"I know you Blue." The reporter begins while resting her chin on Blue's shoulder.

"You don't do anything without a good reason, so whatever it is I want you to talk to me. You're not getting rid of me that easily." Piper says as she places a kiss just below her ear, inhaling her scent. She has an idea as to why Nora did what she did but thinks that the Vault Dweller needs to get it out in the open.

"I thought everyone was lying to me like you said." She begins after some reflection of what had transpired over the last few days.

"How could a man who is nearly four times my age actually be my son? So I waited. I thought about grabbing 'Father' or Shaun, or whoever he claimed to be, and beat it out of him." She laughs bitterly, then continues.

"Especially since he lead me down a hallway to a room in order to confront me when I first got there...just like... "

"Just like Kellogg." Piper finishes the sentence and closes her eyes as she thinks back to the look on Blue's face when she returned from killing the Institute's mercenary. How satisfied she seemed to be, even if only for a second. It was only when Piper and Blue were alone, did all of the emotions come flooding to the surface. Blue and Piper may not have thought much of Nate in the end but he did try and save Shaun and did not deserve to die, but Kellogg did, and now it is looking like Shaun may as well, especially after Blue's next statement.

"He had a boy...locked in a room. He looked just like Shaun, or the visions I saw of him. Apparently, this was just another one of his experiments to see how we would interact...believe it was him." The bitterness in Nora's voice is ever present and Piper cannot imagine the mental torment that her lover went through.

"Who was the boy?" Piper asks hesitantly. Each answer given by Blue is worse than expected and Piper is regretting ever starting this conversation.

"He was a synth, made up to look like my son...I wanted it to be him so bad, but..." Blue can't finish the sentence as a sob escapes and tears begin to run down her cheeks.

Piper doesn't need to look her lover in the eyes to tell how shaken Nora is. She can feel the emotion coming from the woman she loves, so she tightens her hold as Blue works through everything at her own pace. Since meeting Blue, Piper has been her rock, just as Nora has been the reporters. They've been through everything together, so to hear the person she loves in so much pain, and not be able to do anything about it is a horrible feeling, and Piper can only offer support by holding her, and hope that it will be enough.

"Before the old man, or Shaun, told me who he was, I wanted to take his life. Take everything he took from me, but..." Nora lets out a long quivering sigh, breaths in deep and then continues.

"I had Kellogg's gun aimed at his head, and even after he told me who he was I refused to believe him. I should've finished him right then and there, but then I thought what if he really is telling the truth, and he is my son? Then I'd be taking the life of a person that I wanted more than anything...the entire reason behind why I do what I've been doing, and I couldn't bring myself to hurt him. So after he sent me to go meet the different department heads I began to question each of them about who he was, but I kept getting the same answer. I became so frustrated that I attacked some scientist in charge of creating synthetic animals, and I tried to make him talk, but he knew nothing."

It is difficult to hear the woman she loves talking about harming someone so nonchalantly, but a thought enters her mind and overtakes all others. This is the Institute that they are talking about. The Commonwealth's boogeymen that Piper has been trying to uncover the truth about for years, and they are a group that is capable of ruining lives just like they did to the woman she is holding.

"The man I hurt turned out to be a synth and didn't know anything other than who he believed Shaun and myself to be. They all knew who I was like they were waiting for me to arrive so we could have one big family reunion." Nora sounds relieved when she admits that the person she hurt wasn't Human, but bitter at the last part. She seems to be calming down and is more aggravated than anything else.

"You should have seen all of their faces, Piper. They were just like the robots on TV or in the comic books, void of all emotion. Only the humans were completely stunned by what I did, but after it was all over with, everything returned to normal...like nothing had happened." Nora turns her head to look up at Piper and continues.

"It was then that I thought I was never going to see you again. That they'd lock me up or kill me on the spot since Shaun's experiment of letting me out of the vault didn't go as planned, but nothing happened." The last few words were spoken in relief. She is still hurt over how her life was toyed with, but in the end, she has gained so much, and can't imagine a life without the reporter, who places a kiss on her lips.

"Well, they obviously understood why you did all of that if they allowed you to stay there two more days and come and go as you please." Hearing about that little feature installed in Blues Pip-boy makes Piper nervous about whether or not they can track Blue, but her focus has to be on her lover right now.

Nora nods her head at Piper's logic.

"And they trusted you enough to show you the facility as well as have you lead missions so."

"You're right Piper, but that's not the only reason why I need to stay away from them." Nora turns around and lays on her back so she can see Pipers face that is awaiting an answer.

"They want me to kill the leader of the Railroad. They...or Shaun rather, wants me to kill Desdemona." Blue can see the disbelieving stare from the woman that she loves, but that disbelief soon turns to a realization as to why Shaun would want her dead, but Piper isn't happy about this, at all.

"Dammit Blue, we can't let them do this." Piper is furious now and sits up in their bed.

"We have to put a stop to them once and for all. They've terrorized people around here for far too long. It needs to end now." It has always fascinated Blue how Piper can talk so much with her mouth and her hands at the same time, almost like they are connected. But it is no surprise that she does this since she is as passionate as she is; Nora's grandmother did the same thing when it came to cooking.

"I know Piper. I know." Nora grabs the reporters hands and tries to reel her in.

"I'm trying to come up with a way that we can stop them, but there is more." She kneels on the bed in front of Piper in order to look her in the eyes, so the reporter understands the seriousness of what has happened.

"I killed two more courser's, and it is because of you." For a moment Nora sees fear flash over Piper's features so Blue squeezes the reporter's hands to indicate that she is with her, no matter.

"I heard them mention your name after my last mission with one of their scientists, and I lost it. I screamed at him to tell me how he knew you, but he didn't talk. I've never been so angry and I killed him and the other synth he was with and that's when I left. So I don't know if I can go back there again, and I don't want you or Nat anywhere out of my sight...at least for a while. Nick is watching her now, but we will lay low in Diamond City until something can be figured out." Piper looks to argue but Blue cuts her off with a kiss.

"Please do this, for me," Nora asks after she pulls away, looking the reporter in her eyes and lightly brushes Piper's lips with her own.

"Please?" Piper is still reeling from their kiss but nods in agreement even if she'd rather take the fight to them.

The reporter's answer seems to relieve some of Blues tension, but the sound of a vertibird flying in the distance causes it to come flooding back. As it gets closer and yells from the Minutemen and settlers can be heard calling for her to come down, Nora lowers her head, closes her eyes, and curses at herself.

"There is one more thing I forgot to tell everyone." Nora grunts as she stands and walks over to look out of the window at the approaching Brotherhood of Steel aircraft.

"What’s that?" Piper asks while she moves next to Blue and looks out in the same direction.

"I kind of pissed off the Brotherhood of Steel on my last mission with the Institute, and we may be enemies now." She says while continuing to berate her choices as of late. She isn't a fan of the faction and couldn't care less about its leader, but Nora doesn't want them as an enemy either.

"But we won't know how bad I screwed things up until they start shooting." Seeing the less than pleased look she is receiving from Piper due to the poorly timed joke causes Blue to move away, and go get dressed so she can intercept any problems that may arise.

She quickly enters her X-01 armor, grabs her rifle, and walks out of their home while some of her troops follow her and others enter buildings, so they can defend Sanctuary if need be. Blue walks to the end of the road towards the river that separates Sanctuary from the rest of the Commonwealth flanked by Preston and waits until the prewar aircraft lands. It is a good sign that no one is shooting yet, but she can see that there are four BoS members in the vertibird, all dressed in their Power Armor and armed with miniguns. A fifth person becomes visible after two of them disembark. Nora recognizes him from his normal wear of a brown trench coat and his full beard, Elder Maxson.

Blue swallows hard trying to keep her nerves at bay. The people of Sanctuary are well armed and trained in defending themselves and their homes, but Nora doubts that the twenty or so farmers would be able to successfully take on the entire Brotherhood of Steel if Maxson got hurt, so she hopes this little-unplanned visit is peaceful.

"Elder Maxson. To what do we owe the honor of your visit?" Blue greats the leader of the Brotherhood faction, but it doesn't seem like he is in the mood for pleasantries.

"You know how I feel about the institute." Maxson is in her face before the whine of the engines has stopped.

"Yes but..."

"It is a malignant growth that needs to be cut before it affects the surface."

"I know how you feel about them. I heard this same speech on the..." Nora is hoping he takes the hint and gets to a point but it isn't her lucky day.

"The synths that they are creating are not only offensive but horribly dangerous. And like the Atom if they are not harnessed properly then it has the potential of rendering us extinct as a species. I am not prepared to allow the Institute to continue this line of experimentation. The institute and their synths are considered enemies of the Brotherhood of Steel and should be dealt with swiftly and mercilessly. Now the reports have stated that you've been seen working alongside the Institute." His tone is steady but Nora can tell he is extremely aggravated, and his next statement is probably a good reason why.

"You were granted the rank of Knight, given an endorsement from one of my most respected field officers, and have been successful in countless missions for the Brotherhood. That is the only reason why you were not fired upon before, but things change and I would like to know why you chose this path?"

Nick always said that the Brotherhood was here to start a war, and this could be the start of that war depending on how Blue answers. Seeing the very stoic man quietly looking back at her she takes the hint.

"Oh, you mean I can talk now?" Her sarcasm always has a way of making itself appear at the worst times, but right now she doesn't give a shit. She hears Preston try and stifle a laugh and even though she can't see the faces of the three knights behind Maxon, Blue can tell that they are laughing as well; everyone knows how the man likes to hear his own voice.

"I would like an explanation, yes, Knight." His hardened and chiseled facial features never seem to move, and Blue thinks that if he smiles that he may crack.

"It's General to you," Preston speaks up immediately at the lack of respect Maxon is showing the Minutemen leader.

"It's okay Garvey." Blue turns and puts her hand up to stop any oncoming argument, and can see Piper move up behind her, weapon at the ready.

"My reasoning behind working with them is my own," Nora says as she turns back to face the Brotherhood of Steel leader.

"But I will say that I have seen the inner workings of the Institute, and they have created a utopia filled with technology that I'd assume would interest you. Now I have been able to meet their leader, and if I can earn his trust then I think I can persuade him to leave the Commonwealth alone, or maybe even help us. I also think..."

"There is no reasoning with these people. There is no working with these people." Maxson's voice is growing louder as he speaks, and he is clearly irritated by her response.

"They have basic necessities that the people of the Commonwealth no longer have." Blue is hoping that she can persuade Maxson to not start a war. The Commonwealth cannot afford another one.

"If we can work alongside them and have them assist us then maybe..."

"You are either an ally of the Brotherhood, or you are a member of the Institute and an enemy of us all!"

Piper is now next to Blue and is a little surprised at what her lover is saying. Not five minutes ago she wanted nothing to do with the Institute. She even seemed like she wanted to destroy everything that had anything to do with them, but now she is suggesting working alongside them, and Piper wants to know why.

"You really won't compromise? There are innocent people down there that are just trying to survive this mess...just like we are." Nora is tired of being interrupted and wants this conversation to be over. She clenches her jaw tightly together in annoyance after Maxson shakes his head no, so she decides not to antagonize him and try to reason with him.

"If we go up against them then there is no telling how many innocent people are going to die. People who have done nothing wrong." Her persuasion attempts normally work but the man in front of her is being extremely stubborn.

"There are no innocent people in war."

"This isn't a war anymore, Maxson. Not unless you make it one...this is survival!"

"In the end, is there a difference?" His utter lack of compassion is infuriating and Nora can feel the bones in her hands grind as she squeezes her weapon tighter. One shot to the head and this will be all over with; at least for the moment.

"I am also here for another reason." Maxson's words bring her back from her dark thoughts.

"I understand that you have the ability to travel between the Commonwealth and the Institute, and we would like to see if we could duplicate that technology in order to infiltrate them. I was hoping that you would accompany me back to the Prydwen so we could...."

If Nora could pull her hair out she would, but her armored helmet is in the way. She is relieved that it is considering how much Maxson probably would not appreciate her rolling her eyes each time he speaks. She had planned on letting things cool down and keeping Piper and Nat safe while warning Desdemona, and even try to bring Danse in on everything, but that is not happening now.

"I need three days Elder." Nora now interrupts Maxson. She is hoping that she can buy some time, but it hasn't worked so far, so she tries a new tactic.

"If we are going to go up against the Institute then I need to make sure the Minutemen are ready." Blue continues and feeds into Maxon's strategic side.

"Understood." He agrees which relieves some stress, but this is not how she wanted today to start.

"I will see you in three days’ time, General." Maxson seems like he is giving a warning to her, and Blue takes it as such.

As the Vertibird slowly moves out of view, everyone sighs in relief, stiff fingers relax off of their triggers. The tension had been thick, and for a moment Nora thought she may have to shoot Maxson just to get him to stop talking, but now she has a bigger problem, Piper.

"You mind telling me why you just agreed to work alongside them, alongside the Institute?" Piper points to the out-of-sight aircraft, face contorted in anger.

"Piper listen." Blue has since exited her armor and is now following the animated, and aggravated reporter back to their home. Nora can see how upset Piper is, and she doesn't want today to get any worse than it already is, but this isn't helping.

"I only did that to buy us some time..."

"Three days ago you wanted to incinerate the place with a nuke...you were ready to give your life up for it! I was supposed to be okay with it!" Piper is trying to hold back her tears, but her thoughts of losing Blue overtake everything else.

"You've never wanted to work with the Brotherhood, and this morning you wanted nothing to do with Institute, and now you want to work together to protect them!" The reporter says while walking away. Her voice is echoing off of the homes that surround them, making it seem like she is yelling louder, and Blue flinches a little at each word spoken.

"No. I was trying to make him see some sort of reason. All he wants to do is kill everything there..."

"And I agree with him!" Piper abruptly turns around and says, and then continues to move towards their home just as quickly.

Nora cringes at her answer. Piper has never liked the Brotherhood or anything that they stood for. The reporter believes that the military-style faction is only interested in the technology each area they go to can offer them, take all that they can, and leave without helping the local people. So to hear her lover agree with someone she hates is concerning, to say the least.

Sounds of things being thrown and Piper cursing come from the house that Blue built while she stops at the entrance. She doesn't want to go in, but she will be in more trouble if she delays too much longer, so she smiles at everyone who had been standing within earshot of their conversation and receives sympathetic looks in return. As she opens the large wooden door, Blue swears she can hear bells tolling off in the distance indicating her imminent demise, but this is Piper, and she wouldn't hurt her, too much.

"I'm sorry," Piper says as soon as Nora closes the door.

"I didn't mean to snap. I got scared when you began talking about going back to the Institute. I mean, what if what you said is true and they are looking for us, and Nat because of what you did." Piper expresses her fears and it sends a shiver down Nora's spine at what she is suggesting.

"I won't let that happen!"

"You can't protect us all of the time Blue." The reporter always feels safer whenever Blue is around, which is all of the time but there are too many unknowns with having the Institute as an enemy.

"And now you want to work next to the Brotherhood of Steel...it's all just too much."

Nora sighs and places her hands down on the table in front of her, and leans on them. She lowers her head and closes her eyes, as Piper sits on the same table beside her, facing the opposite way. The reporter can see the lines near her eyes and creases that have begun to form on Blue's forehead. She looked so young when she first arrived at Diamond City. Her smooth skin and lack of worry lines were one of the first things that caught Piper's attention. It all made sense once she found out that Blue had been frozen for the last two hundred years, but now the Commonwealth seems to be taking its toll on her and Piper realizes that she may have jumped the gun with this and relaxes a little.

"I know Piper. I know. I just needed to see where his mindset was. I was hoping that he'd see reason and not try to demolish the rest of the Commonwealth, but I have a bad feeling that that will happen if we allow him anywhere near the Institute."

"So what do we do?" Nora smiles back at Piper, relieved that the reporter is listening to her, and she receives an apologetic smile in return.

"I don't know, but I think we need help. I was just going to have the Brotherhood go down there and let them deal with it, but that is the last resort." She says shaking her head.

"That might not be a bad idea."

"I know what the Institute stands for, Piper, but there are innocent people, children down there, and I can't allow them to be harmed." Nora knows how Piper feels about them, how most of the Commonwealth feels about the Institute. She even began to identify with the citizens after hearing each person's story, but those who live down there that are only trying to survive should be given a choice; a choice that Nora never received.

"And even though I'll hate every moment of you not being by my side, you and Nat's safety is more important than anything else, so I understand if you don't want to be apart of this..." A gentle hand caresses her back, and a kiss placed on her cheek stops her from finishing her thought.

"I'm not going anywhere," Piper whispers in her ear while snaking an arm around her to pull her in close.

"I am just scared."

"I am too. And as much as I hate to admit it, I need to make sure that there aren't any innocent people who get hurt...there or anywhere else for that matter."

"This is why I love you so much. You want to help people no matter who they are. And even though you frustrate the hell out of me sometimes I couldn't imagine not being next to you on this mission."

"Thanks, I think," Blue says sheepishly.

"I think you're right though. I think we need help and not from the Brotherhood." Piper reiterates what Nora has been suggesting.

"We need to get to the Railroad and see if they'd be willing to join us."

"They may be more willing than you might think, General." Preston's voice comes from the doorway of their home, which Nora decides needs a better lock.

"Excuse the interruption, but Deacon was here and wanted to discuss our uninvited guests, and he is on his way back to the Railroad, said he'd meet you there. But before you leave, one of the Knights handed me this, and I think you're going to want to hear what it has to say." Preston hands Blue a holotape and she plays it on her Pip-boy and listens carefully as a very nervous Scribe Haylens voice comes over the speaker and warns them all.

" _ **If you're listening to this then you made the right decision. You need to stay away from the Brotherhood. All they want is what is in your Pip-boy and they will do anything to get it. I snuck onto Maxon's protection detail to warn you since Elder Maxon has made a declaration of war against all of those who support the Institute, or help the synths. I'm not sure how but he heard about how you freed the synths at Bunker Hill..."**_

Nora closes her eyes and rubs at her temples to try and stop the oncoming headache as they continue to listen to the tape. Apparently, the Brotherhood has been keeping close tabs on her and knew far more than she thought. It doesn't change what has happened and they need to move forward, but she hopes that there are no more surprises. A sob from Haylen on the recording lets her know that she isn't that lucky.

**_"They killed him! They found evidence that Danse was a synth and Maxon had him killed on sight. It was supposed to be a mission for you, but after Bunker Hill, he didn't think you could be trusted..."_ **

The tape finishes with Haylen collecting herself and wishing Nora good luck, and a peaceful outcome, but all Blue can think about is her friend.

"I'm sorry General. He was a good man." Preston says sympathetically as he walks out, which she answers with a slight nod.

"I'm sorry too Blue." Piper squeezes her lover as Blue leans her head on the reporter's shoulder.

"You okay?" Piper can tell that the woman leaning on her for support is not alright, and is in shock by the news. Danse had his quirks and was a member of a fascist militant style faction, but he always did what was right even if he was a little overzealous. More importantly, though, he was a friend.

"I just want to go back to bed and restart the day, or have it end already and forget it ever happened," Nora exclaims while shaking her head a little.

She leans into Pipers' shoulder and feels at home in her embrace. As sad as the news about Danse is, and as much as it could very well be just another reason to wall themselves off from the rest of the Commonwealth, listening to her lover's heartbeat lets Nora know that there is still a reason to fight back. 

"But now more than ever we need to build up our defenses, and warn Desdemona before Maxon makes a decision."

"And then?" Piper asks, wishing she too could lay back down and forget everything that has happened. 

The reporter has never been one to grieve for too long. The Commonwealth doesn't always afford that luxury, and right now looks to be the same, but there will be time later to say goodbye. Piper hopes that she can grant Blue's wish for even just a moment and leads her back to their bed so they can try and relax. Piper knows that there is work to do, but it can wait for the time being especially since she is not sure that either of them could take any more "good news" today.

"And then, we give the Brotherhood, and Elder Maxon an ultimatum. He either takes his flying balloon, and leaves, or stays and fight. They've overstayed their welcome in the Commonwealth...same with the Institute. It's time to take back what's ours."

* * *

  **February 7, 2288**

The Glowing Sea:

Originally making up the southwestern part of Boston, the Glowing Sea is now nothing more than empty space, and a reminder of what happened all of those years ago. The stories from those that have traveled here call it an area known as ground zero to the massive nuclear detonation during the Great War. A dangerously irradiated hotspot, with above-average radiation levels throughout its territory, and as Nora looks out upon the desolate area she shudders as she takes it all in.

Even though it is a shell of what it once was, the Commonwealth is still recognizable, but not here. Now all the lone Vault 111 survivor can see is a large isolated patch of heavily irradiated landscape, ripped up and reshaped by the atomic blasts that carpeted the Glowing Sea. What was once a thriving community now consists of scorched earth spotted with radioactive ponds, charred trees, wrecked cars and heaps of rubble, with hardly any signs of previous civilization. What few buildings remain that weren't outright reduced to thinly-spread debris are half-buried by landslides and sinkholes caused by the bombs. Rain clouds that pass over the Glowing Sea become irradiated and spread radiation into other parts of the Commonwealth wasteland that give Nora her much-hated Rad Storms.

Despite all of these dangers and more, the Glowing Sea apparently harbors life, including humans, which Blue cannot see how. She's on the outskirts right now, but hearing that there is a settlement at the center of the Glowing Sea known as the Crater of Atom, inhabited by humans from the Church of the Children of Atom makes her shake her head in disbelief. She is curious to see if it's true, but her mission comes first.

The stories are endless about what is out there but Blue wants to spend as little time as possible exploring. Plus there is the warning from Piper, telling her not to come back with any wrinkles or more appendages or there may be issues, so finding Virgil and getting back to the reporter is at the top of her to-do list. She could tell that Piper was trying to make light of a difficult situation, especially since they will be apart for the first time in a while, but Blue reassured her as best she can.

_"We will be in each other's arms before you know it."_ Nora had told her girlfriend while looking into her eyes, then kissing her deeply which seemed to help.

_"And if I happen to come back with an extra hand then maybe we can try it out."_ She continued nonchalantly, after their lips parted, which earned a laugh and a swat on the shoulder.

They had just told each other how they felt the week prior and spent every moment of the next few days with each other. So now her heart aches a little, yearning to see the reporter she loves, but rumors of a former Institute scientist that can help her gain access into the secret faction, and Piper looking into her own lead on the Institute has them away from each other but only for a bit. 

Looking at her Pip-boy to see that her companion, Nick Valentine is late, causes Blue to sigh in frustration. Not only is she out in the open, but time is being wasted since Nick had something to take care of and was supposed to have met her here. She is worried that he may have gotten into trouble, and the sounds of the vertibird approaching only increase that worry. She had kept Valentine away when she visited the Brotherhood, fearing that they would try and hurt/ dissect him, so to see a Brotherhood aircraft approach from the same direction that Nick was supposed to indicate that something may have happened. Nora is hoping that he is one piece since the lives of those on the aircraft depend on her friend's survival.

Gripping the stock of her trusted rifle a little tighter, Nora grows tenser as the time passes. Soon she doesn't know what to think as the vertibird lands and a single helmet-less, armored clad figure hops off.

"Danse?" Blue takes off her own helmet to great her friend. 

"What are you doing here?" She asks still a little baffled by his presence.

"I was told that you were in need of my assistance." His deep monotone voice, even overpowers the aircraft's engines directly behind him.

"By who?"

"Ms. Wright and Mr. Valentine contacted me and asked if I'd be willing to escort you to your destination. Something about not wanting you to grow another appendage, but from what I hear that is the least of our worries."

"Of course you would say that," Nora says jokingly to Danse who is motioning her to get into the vertibird.

"Common, we can at least get a front row viewing to see if all of the stories are true."

"That still doesn't answer why you agreed to do this." Nora is trying not to come across as ungrateful but she is sure that Maxon has more important tasks for him to do. But Danse doesn't seem to care about any of it and his next statement, before they travel above the Glowing Sea, makes her see exactly how much of a friend he is.

"Because this is for your family, and a wise woman once told me that family is the most important thing. Without it we have nothing."

 


	8. "I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to all of you who have supported this, and anything else that I have posted here. It is always appreciated. Been way to long between updates, but that should change.
> 
> So on an off note, I just started Fallout 4 on survival mode and while it is definitely challenging, and damn do they need more beds to sleep in, it is full of rage quitting fun. If you want a challenge, higher blood pressure, new and improved ways to curse and less working remotes after they've been tossed across the room, then I suggest playing it on that difficulty.
> 
> There are some spoilers below.
> 
> Thanks again for the support.

**March 12, 2078**

"I've got another one!" Deacon's voice is heard over the screams of pain from the injured, and those trying to tend to them as wounds are treated.

With Nora and Piper's help, the railroad member begins to dig his companion out from under a collapsed wall that is a result of the recent firefight that took place just moments ago. Nora had sent word to the Railroad to be at the ready after Maxson's visit, suspicious of what the Brotherhood leader would do, and this is one time that she wishes that her intuition was wrong.

Nora figured with his distaste for synths that it was only a matter of time before Maxson sent his troops after the one faction that helps them escape the Institute and be free. After not hearing anything for nearly a day they left Sanctuary and went straight to Desdemona to warn her and offer help.

What they found was the aftermath of an attack that apparently happened while the leaders of the two factions were having their meeting at Sanctuary, conveniently at the other end of the Commonwealth, and now Nora is fuming.

"Bastards!" Blue curses under her breath as she pulls another piece of crumbled brick off of the injured Railroad member.

"Fucking cowards!" Blue yells while throwing the last brick against the wall, watching it turn into dust.

Neither she nor Piper knew what to expect when they saw Brotherhood of Steel members running from the church while carrying away their wounded. After a knowing glance between the two lovers, they rushed in to find a bloodbath. Bodies from both sides were strewn about, and it initially looked like there weren't any surviving members of the Railroad. They frantically began to search, but only found lifeless bodies until Deacon stood up from behind a demolished wall.

Normally the quick-witted synth would have made an off-handed joke or comment, like how much of a mess the place was, or how their timing was impeccable since everything was over, but he said nothing. His expression of sadness and pain, which only became worse as he searched the bodies of his friends for survivors, was all that was needed to show how he truly felt. One by one he checked for signs of life, closing his eyes and shaking his head as he continued to find that each of his friends was gone until a voice everyone recognized began to speak through a coughing fit. After Desdemona dusted herself off, lit a cigarette, and assessed the grim situation, the leader of the Railroad looked at the three facing her with signs of relief etched on their faces and began to dole out orders.

Soon they began to find more and more members that were injured, but alive, and Deacon started to feel hope return with each person they discovered, and this next find is no different.

"Tom!" Deacon's voice is laced with worry as he recognizes the eccentric inventor who is unconscious, but alive. He begins to dig a little faster when the inventor starts to wake up and breathes a sigh of relief when it looks like his friend is okay.

"Watch his head," Nora instructs Piper as they pull him out from under the aging brick and mortar. She is going on instinct right now and her short-lived medical training is coming back to her but all she really wants to do is put a bullet in Maxson, and every other BoS member. She is relieved that they are finding more and more railroad members alive like Drummer Boy, Doctor Carrington, and PAM, but there is still a threat, and they need to start thinking of an evacuation plan before reinforcements arrive.

"Desdemona..." Nora calls for the Railroad leader after finding another survivor.

"We need to get out of here before they regroup and come back." Nora's voice is laced with concern as the minutes pass by, knowing that Maxson is not one to let a mission go unfinished.

"There was another explosion so now we're cut off from the rear entrance. The catacombs are now our only way out." Desdemona answers the Minutemen leader, frustration building at seeing the remnants of her faction.

Nora nods her head and begins to check on each person with Desdemona in tow to see if they can walk when a sudden jolt of fear runs through Nora's veins when she realizes that someone is missing.

"Where is Glory?" Nora asks and hopes that her friend is alright.

If ever there was a synth created to be the exact copy of Nora, it was the Railroads other heavy hitter. Minus her skin tone being a little darker, Glory's hair, smile, sarcastic quick-witted self is all a mirror image of the Vault 111 survivor, and they became friends instantly. They were only able to work together a few times but each mission was made bearable with the two constantly cracking jokes, competing over killstreaks, and acting like sisters. The synth was the reason why Nora joined the Railroad in the first place and now Glory is nowhere to be found and Nora is beginning to panic.

"She was guarding the entrance to the catacombs. She may have already been overrun by the Brotherhood." Before the Railroad leader can finish her sentence, Blue is already making her way to where Glory is supposed to be.

Rifle in hand with Piper close behind gripping her pistol, the two quickly move through the halls, hoping that the smart-mouthed synth is okay. Hearing Desdemona's warning that they need to win the fight or everyone is dead, they quickly make their way through the underground tunnels of the pre-war building with little regard for any dangers that may await them. Nora is well aware that they are outnumbered and could be ambushed at any moment, but her friend may be in trouble, so she ignores the warnings that Piper and her gut are telling her, and pushes forward. A few twists and turns later, and their worst fears soon become a reality.

"No!" Nora rushes to her injured friend's side and looks her over.

Blood is everywhere, and it is at this point that Nora wishes that the Institute did not make them so lifelike. From the wall that she slid down and now is sitting against, to the puddles on the ground around her, crimson overtakes Nora's vision and Blue has to look away while she tries to think of what to do. Nora can tell that Glory's injuries are fatal, and panic overtakes her, but she doesn't want her friend to see, so she looks back at Piper to see if she has any idea as to what to do. Nora can see her lover hesitate at the sight in front of her, and has an idea about what her lover is thinking. If this is anything like what the reporter had to deal with when Nora was injured, then the vault dweller now understands what it must have been like.

"None of them got passed me." Glory brags when she sees who is next to her. They may have only known each other for a short while, but a competitive sisterly bond was formed during that time.

"Damn that stings." She hisses, leans her head back against the wall, closing her eyes as the pain of her wounds flows through her.

"You're going to be fine," Nora says while frantically trying to apply pressure to her wounds. A shaking, blood-soaked hand grabs Nora's and pulls it away, but holds on while brown eyes meet blue.

"Listen, the railroad is always sitting on their hands..." The injured synth begins but stops as she groans in pain.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened." Tears begin to form around Blue's eyes as she hears her friend's last words; this is not how this was supposed to happen.

"Hold on. You'll make it through." Blue doesn't know if she is trying to convince her dying friend or herself but Piper is right there agreeing with her.

"We can patch this up," Piper says unconvincingly. "You're going to be alright, Glory."

"Bullshit." Glory tries to smile at the reporter in appreciation, but can only wince at the pain. Closing her eyes to avoid the sad expression staring back at her she looks to Nora who shakes her hand free in order to apply pressure to her wounds, and accepts her fate, knowing that the railroad will be in good hands.

"Promise me you'll free them. All of them!" Blue closes her eyes and lowers her head as the realization of what her friend is asking strikes her hard.

"I promise." Nora's voice is barely above a whisper as the life of her friend slowly fades.

"We'll free every damn one," Piper promises as Glory nods her head in thanks. She's always like the reporter and feels bad for wanting bullseye all to herself at one point, but unlike herself, Piper is a survivor, and that is exactly what Nora needs.

"Isn't there...isn't there supposed to be a light?" Glory says and then takes her last breath, head falls to the side as lifeless eyes stare back at the two upset woman.

Piper closes her eyes runs her hands down across her face and yells out in frustration, unable to deal with the loss of another friend. When she looks towards her lover she can see the rage building in Nora as she stands up, grabs the mini-gun, and marches off down the hall. The reporter takes her modified combat rifle off of her back, grabs a few grenades from Glory's pack, and moves to follow Blue who seems hell-bent on revenge. This time there are no pleas for Nora to stop from Piper, only matching footsteps through the dirt and debris that line the corridors of the old church. Their focus is on one thing- eliminating the Brotherhood of Steel. And even though they both know that it won't bring back Glory, it needs to be done to send a message.

They eventually find their first victim whose only reaction is to turn around just as Blue's gun spins to life and fires. The explosive rounds that leave the barrel, light up the dimly lit hallway and the sparks from each bullet that strike the BoS members power armor look like fireworks on the fourth of July to Nora. The sound of each shot fired is deafening and normally the screams of pain would bother her, but Nora ignores it all. She's never liked taking a life before, no matter who it is, but Glory's face continues to run through her mind as she fires. The fact that this could be the one to have killed her friend causes her to squeeze the trigger that much harder and puts an evil satisfied grin on her face after whoever this is screams Ad Victoriam, and falls over.

Staring at the lifeless body in front of her, knowing that she avenged Glorys death, doesn't make her feel any better. The void from her friend's death seems a bit bigger now, and she hopes that her next victim that suffers the same fate makes it easier, but she is wrong. Bullets riddle his armor, and the firework display is now just a light show with flashes of her victim's pained face is now seared into her brain.

The revenge turns into desperation as Nora tries to come up with an excuse that will justify everything in order to make herself feel better, but there is none. The rest of their search starts and ends the same, and by the time Nora and Piper reach the entrance to the church there is a dozen more dead BoS members in their wake, but it doesn't make either of them feel any better.

Piper can see the pain of losing her friend etched across her lover's expression while she has an internal battle with herself as to whether going after the Brotherhood is a smart decision. Stopping at the doorway to the old church, Piper's focus moves to Blue after the vault dweller kneels down next to the door, and the only sound she makes for the next few seconds is long drawn out sighs.

"You okay, Blue?" Piper is concerned and has every reason to be. She's only ever seen Nora like this after she came back from her mission to find Kellogg, and she nearly drank herself into a coma after that.

"I should have been there for her." Blue's voice is barely above a whisper and Piper can see tears streaking through the dust on her cheeks.

"Don't do that to yourself." Piper kneels in front of the vault dweller and wipes away the moisture and soot from her face.

"There was never any direct threat from the Brotherhood...you couldn't have known Maxson was going to do this." Piper gestures down the hall behind them then looks back to Blue and kisses her forehead.

"I still should have been here." Piper sighs a little in frustration but knows that yelling at the stubborn woman isn't the correct thing to do, but she needs to be stern; they can't sit here all day.

"You sent someone to warn them, yes?!" Nora's eyes snap to Pipers after the reporter raises her voice a little. She gestures for her to check the church for anyone that may be waiting for them before she can continue to yell at the vault dweller. After it looks to be clear and she shuts the door after setting a mine at the entrance, Piper comes back to where her lover is still seated in the same spot with the same guilt-ridden look.

"You did everything that you could to warn them even without knowing that this attack was going to happen." Piper looks over every inch of Blue's face for signs that she understands, but sees none.

"You put too much on yourself, Blue. You've done so much for the Commonwealth, for everyone...especially me." That last part gets the vault dwellers attention, and Blue can see the moisture build up around Piper's eyes.

"I've been so afraid that I was going to lose you to this place." Piper is trying to keep her emotions at bay but the thought of losing Blue has been at the forefront of her mind each day, and this is how her fears begin.

"That the Commonwealth was going to take you from me just as quickly as it lead you to my doorstep. That you were going to take on too much or get in over your head even more so then I do." Piper smiles a little and runs her hand through Nora's red hair, then down across to caress her cheek, thinking back to the day that she said that; the day that they told each other how they felt.

It had been an amazing week since there were no settlements that needed help or kidnap victims that needed rescuing, and it gave the two something that they have been lacking since starting the quest to look for Shaun; time. They spent every moment together and there was no fear of the unknown while they were in the confines of Diamond City. Even though the reason behind their reprieve from the Commonwealth was less than ideal they had expressed how they felt about one another and their thoughts were focused solely on each other.

Now, after Glory's death, the reality of the Commonwealth, and all of its dangers have hit her lover hard and Piper is afraid that this was the final straw. Blue has surprised the reporter before with how resilient she is after each mission to get her son back seemed to fail or closed one door but opened four more, but Piper has been fearful of Nora crumbling under the pressure.

"Don't let this attack or Glory's death..."

"You're not going to lose me, Piper." Blue tries to reassure Piper but it doesn't seem to work so she tries something that always has since she started her lessons with Nat.

" _Non si preoccupi il mio amore_ " The reporter leans into her lover's hand as Nora caresses Piper's cheek. She closes her eyes and smiles as the pad of Blues thumb wipes away any moisture that has fallen and the reporter believes her lover's words as Nora tells her not to worry.

"I am just afraid of what I have to do in order to get these fuckers out of my city once and for all." Piper's eyes snap open and she can see how serious Blue is about taking on the Brotherhood and it scares her even more.

It has been bad enough with having the Institute involved in her son's kidnapping, knowing that they would have to face them eventually. It was made even worse when Nora found out that her son had been in charge of the place that gave everyone across the Commonwealth nightmares, but now the BoS has become their enemy and all because they aligned themselves with the Railroad and rescued some synths. Now this attack seems to be the final straw that her lover can deal with and she has lost her focus, being hell-bent on revenge. And with Piper's uncanny ability of deductive reasoning, she would be correct.

"We need a plan. We can't just attack them, they are too well armed." Piper is trying to get Blues attention but her focus is somewhere else.

"They need to pay," Nora says, ignoring Pipers reasoning while her mind races to try and figure out a quick solution to ending the Brotherhoods time in the Commonwealth.

It has always bothered Nora that the military-style faction moved in and was only focused on the abominations that plagued the city. They came into the Commonwealth with only one focus in mind and that was to eliminate the Institute, Super mutants, and any ghoul that they came across without even trying to rid her former and current home of the Raiders and Gunners. At the time of their arrival, Nora had been hopeful that they would help with all of the Commonwealths problems, but she could see within the first few moments of meeting Paladin Danse that they were a group of single-minded people whose leaders were no different. That Maxson and everyone else that followed him was so short-sighted that they even killed one of their own just for being a synth even though that same person continued to follow orders while innocent people were being murdered just for trying to make the Commonwealth a better place. Yes, the settlements that she helped were threatened on a daily basis by them all but she didn't pick and chose who she fought against when she decided to help and neither should a military faction that was supposed to help people do it either. She had nearly convinced Danse of her way of thinking but now her friend is gone and her need for revenge for his, and Glory's death is outweighing everything else; especially with the way he died.

According to the hollow tape, Danse was even okay with being executed after finding out that he was a synth, even with only a single piece of evidence that pointed to him being one. He wasn't even given a trial, and Nora knows that there may not be room right now for the laws that she fought to uphold in this day and age, but there also isn't room for the Brotherhood of Steel if they are going to continue to kill people because _they_ feel it's necessary.

"We need to get back." Nora stands up, dusts herself off, and holds out her hand to help a very worried Piper to her feet. She continues to hold her lover's hand as they walk back to where the rest of the Railroad is trying to get their wounded ready to be able to move.

"What are we going to do?" Piper asks with concern. She feels the hand holding hers squeeze a little as Blue turns to look at her, a smile gracing her lips for the first time all day, and Pipers nerves grow even more.

"That will be a little difficult since I need to get my hands on a Verti-bird..." Blue says nonchalantly and the Diamond reporter is dreading the answer to her next question.

"And the next?"

"Now that is a little bit easier since Preston has it..." Blue puts her arm around Piper's waist as they walk back and pulls her close, pausing for a moment to give her dust covered cheek a kiss.

"The bomb?" Piper knew as soon as Blue said Garvey's name that the modified nuclear warhead was her weapon of choice, and she begins to worry even more and Nora notices.

"Don't worry Piper." Blue stops and turns to face the woman she loves and tries to relieve any worry that the Diamond City reporter may have.

"I don't plan on being anywhere near that stupid blimp when it goes. In fact, I plan on being as far away as possible, standing next to you while we watch our very own firework display."

 And leave it to Blue to keep true to her word as she and Piper stand on the wall of the Castle and watch the Prydwen ignite into a ball of flames. Piper can feel a shiver of fear run through her as she realizes how easy it was for Nora to end the lives of so many, whether they deserved it or not. This scares the reporter even more as to how her lover is changing and the fact that her fear of losing Nora to the Commonwealth is coming true even if it isn't in the literal sense.

Feeling an arm pull her in closer as the two look out in the distance at the fast burning home to hundreds of BoS members, Piper thinks back to their interview and how timid and nervous Blue was. She'd later admit that it was a combination of how shot her nerves were from her travels and not thinking anyone would help her find Shaun once she reached Diamond City but became calmer the more she spoke to the reporter. It was extremely sweet hearing such nice words come from a stranger and Piper would give anything to return to that time so she could stop this moment from happening.

But she can't, so Piper does the only thing that she can think to do and leads Blue down the stairs to their private quarters to talk. She sits the Vault dweller on the bed, and locks the door and hopes that she can convince Nora to stop before she gets herself killed. She knows it won't be easy and it could, in fact, blow up in her face as Piper kneels in front of her lover and takes her hands in her own, looking into the eyes of a now confused Nora, but this needs to be said.

"You told me that I wouldn't lose you to the Commonwealth but what we just did is proving the opposite."

"Jesus Piper!" Blue snaps and walks towards the door to leave. "Is this an intervention, because no thanks? I told you I'm fine, and I don't have time to listen to this..." Blue is about to unlock the door when Piper speaks up and stops her in her tracks.

"You could have just started a war with the Brotherhood of Steel and possibly endangered the lives of everyone who lives here if word got out that they were attacked, so yes, you will stand there and listen to me!" Piper yells, causing the vault dweller to flinch. It brings a satisfied smile to the reporter's face but she still has to tread lightly since their next step is to go after the Institute and Shaun.

"I honestly don't give a shit about what just happened to Maxson and his goon squad." Piper's words are softer than before but confuse and seem to annoy Blue.

"They were bullies, and brainwashed, yes..." Piper elaborates before any words of protest can be formed.

"But what frightens me is how we lost another friend while carrying out plans for revenge over the death of another, without a second thought.

"Haylen would have killed you if I didn't do something..." Blue is getting angry at the accusations and Piper is quickly losing control over this conversation and needs to steer it back.

"And I love you for that." The reporter moves closer to Blue and looks her in the eyes to show her that she is sincere.

"I wish it didn't come to that..." Piper's memories move back to when they went after the verti-bird at the Cambridge police station, and how Haylen defended the station against an unknown enemy until her final moments. The betrayed look she gave Nora after the pre-war relic shot her to protect Piper is something that neither one of them will ever forget.

"I don't understand what we are doing here Piper. We need to get ready for the Institute." Nora's words are short and her irritation is ever present and she is about to walk out.

"And that's why we are here. We are going to have to take into consideration when we go up against the Institute that there are going to be innocent people we will have to deal with whose only crime was being born into the Institute..."

Her words are cut off by the door to their room slamming open against the wall after Nora storms out yelling something in Italian about not giving a fuck about anyone down there. The reporter lowers her head in defeat as Blue stops to turn around to ask how could Piper care after all of the horror stories she has told the vault dweller. 

"Don't say that to me! Not you!" Nora's voice echoes off of the old walls of the castle, gaining the attention of everyone there.

"You can't tell me that you've feared the Institute this entire time and now all of a sudden we have to be careful because a few people died! It doesn't work that way, Piper! Not anymore!" 

Now the Diamond city reporter wishes that she could get the last five minutes back and fix this as she watches Blue leave to go to the armory. After a moment Piper moves to follow her lover and hopes that she just didn't cause Blue to go after the Institute alone again for a final time, and lose her permanently.

 


	9. Stay with me, don't let me go. Until the ashes of eden fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is still alive and I want to thank all of you who have supported it so far. 
> 
> Hit a rough patch which I won't get into but all I will say is that two things will help get you through the toughest times- family and anything you are passionate about.

"You're really not going to listen to me about this Blue?" The pre-war relic hears Piper ask, sounding a little winded after she finally catches up to Nora. She has been following her since Blue walked out of their room and past the Castle walls, trying to get her attention for the entire time, so they could continue their conversation, but Nora isn't interested.

Nora's frustration boiled over when Piper mentioned "innocent casualties" and the "Institute" in the same sentence when all she has been hearing is how evil they all are. The pre-war relics chest became tight and the castle walls restricting, while thoughts ran through her mind on how everything she had been doing was for nothing. Her search for Shaun turned into a disaster, so she put everything she had into protecting the ones she loved, and now that may be wrong as well; it was all too much and she's been walking around the Commonwealth ever since. Making the Commonwealth safer for Piper and Nat to live in without worry of being hurt is all that the pre-war relic has wanted since meeting them. And if that includes ridding the Commonwealth of everyone who is a threat, both directly and indirectly then, so be it.

Her family was innocent when the bombs fell, yet they were not spared and she had no way of saving those that meant the most to her at that time. Now her family consists of the two Diamond City woman, and she is in a position to make sure that they are safe by removing those that would harm them. The Institute is just another piece that needs to be taken out just like the Brotherhood of Steel and eventually the Raiders and Gunners. Nora's hands ball into a fist and a feeling of pure hatred runs through her while thinking about getting rid of every last one of them, especially if it means that her family is safe, and they have just one more night of sleeping without fear.

But now the one person that she is fighting for is telling her that ridding the Commonwealth of everyone in the Institute may be taking it too far, and Nora isn't sure how she should react. It's what she thought that her lover wanted since Piper and the rest of the Commonwealth's citizens have had to deal with the dangers for all of their lives, so she's not sure what the reason is for the sudden change. But isn't sure she really wants to listen to it either way.

"Will you stop and talk to me!" She can hear Piper's voice crack a little as she continues to walk away.

She isn't ignoring her deliberately, but she needs to reach her spot- she needs time to think. Behind her, she hears Piper scoff at her actions, and she can already visualize what the Diamond City reporter is doing. Shaking her head while her annoyance grows, waving her hands around while the smoke from her cigarette follows her hand movements; all while she continues to follow the infuriating woman in front of her.

Piper had thought that the pre-war relic was going to go to the armory, grab the biggest weapon they had and let off some steam like she normally does when she is upset, but not this time. This time Nora surprised everyone when she left the Castle completely. It sent everyone into a panic and Preston to try and go out after the Minutemen General. Piper took it upon herself to follow her lover out into the Commonwealth as the sun was starting to set on another day, but not before putting the worrisome Garveys mind at ease, that Nora was still the same person he had asked to lead the nearly defunct faction all those months ago. He was beginning to have his doubts that the Commonwealth was getting to Blue, and she may crack at any moment. He has seen it before and would understand if she needed a long break, but Piper continually reassured him but even she is beginning to have her doubts about Nora's sanity.

"Can you stop for one damn second?!" Piper is used to being ignored when it comes to trying to do an interview with unwilling people when it is about a taboo subject, but this is Blue.

This was supposed to be their time together, watching the sunset right before another mission, and wondering if Nat was destroying their home while they held each other. But recent circumstances have the two not seeing eye to eye, even though Nora knows Piper is right.

"So you're not going to say anything to me then?" Piper asks after a moment of looking at her lover with a questioning stare when Nora finally stops outside of an old collapsed building not far from the Castle wall. Pipers annoyance at her lover's antics is growing and her actions are beginning to hurt, while all Blue continues to do is ignore her and stare at the ground.

Piper sighs and turns around in order to collect her thoughts so she can think of what to say to the infuriatingly stubborn woman. Instead, her mind begins to wander a bit when she turns to face an aging sign attached to the old soda shop that is falling apart behind them. She gets lost in her own thoughts while her eyes study each inch of the sign that says "Nuka Cola Ice Cream Floats Sold Here". She becomes transfixed while watching it sway back and forth from the slight breeze, and she wonders if the two of them would have gone here on a date if they knew one another before the bombs fell. Since falling for the pre-war relic, Piper finds her thoughts are about her lover past more and more, and wondering what it must have been like before the war. And just like always, Piper falls deep into thought about what that time may have been like since it fascinates her. Sure she has heard stories from Blue, but they are few and only when she is drunk, but actually experiencing that time would have been incredible.

For Piper to be able to report on the important matters affecting the world and have it seen by millions of people on the TV is a dream that she can barely fathom. That her face could have been plastered all over every screen on a nightly basis instead of being restricted to a few words on ratty old pieces of paper while only writing about the problems in the Commonwealth is something that the Diamond City reporter would never have thought possible if not for the pre-war relic. That time must have been amazing to live in since they were able to walk around without fear of getting shot at or wondering where your next meal was coming from. They lived in houses like Blues, in Sanctuary Hills which Piper stares at, and get lost in thought each time that they are there, and pictures what it must have looked like. The beautiful colored flowers in the garden that Codsworth took care of as Nora prepared food in their spotless kitchen while wearing her favorite teal colored dress. They drove cars together as families instead of how things are now, and that brings her thoughts to her lovers family.

How amazing it would have been to know who Blue and her family were while listening to Nora's stories always brings a smile to her lips. What they must have been like and what they would have thought about their relationship. Would they have to be accepted during that time or would Blue be shunned because it was frowned upon? Nora has never said anything about it but Piper is sure that there would have been remarks of some sort considering she hears them now. But no, Piper shakes her head in confidence that Nora's family wouldn't be like that, and probably tease her instead. Piper imagines how embarrassed Nora would become while they all sat around the table eating massive amounts of food as a family, and make fun of the pre-war relic until she turned a deep shade of red. This is something that the reporter thinks about often, but can never build up enough courage to ask Blue about it since she seems sensitive about that topic, but she needs her mind off of the fact that they are about to go on a mission that involves killing her son; no matter if Nora accepts Shaun or not. It may not be the best topic for Nora to talk about but it's better than the silence that is happening between the two of them.

Momentarily forgetting why she is here and wanting to ask Blue about her past, she turns to look at her lover and everything comes flooding back. Her expression turns to disbelief while she watches Blue kneel down and look at a spot of ash on the ground. She continues to watch Nora as she closes her eyes and mouths a few words that Piper can't understand, but knows it is Blues native language since she has sat in on some of Nats Italian classes; when times were good and they were actually talking to one another. This, however, is not one of those good times and Piper knows that Blue is going through some issues, especially when it involves the Institute and her son, but they have always been able to talk things out, so this time should not be any different.

"I am used to being ignored by all types of people." Piper says barely above a whisper." But I thought you were different...that you'd never shut me out no matter how bad it got." The Diamond City reporter has been in this type of situation before and normally when someone no longer wants to talk to her or want her around anymore they do the same thing. The fact that Blue is treating her the same way hurts and it is all that she can think about, causing her to lose control her emotions.

"I've been ignored by a lot of people but never you!" Nora can hear how upset she is and immediately turns to look at the woman she loves, to see a look of hurt staring back at her, cheeks filled with tears, and she never thought she would be the cause of Pipers suffering.

"Not you!" Piper repeats Blues words back at her from their previous conversation about the Institute and innocent lives.

Seeing Pipers expression and finally hearing her words makes Nora realize how she's been acting, but her mind is a blank and she can't think of anything to say except to explain why she's at this particular spot. She knows that she should apologize and grab the woman whose heart seems to be breaking with each moment of silence that passes, and tell her that she loves her, but it doesn't come out. Her mouth opens to say something, anything, but all Nora can do is look down and away from the look that Piper is giving her; a look she never wanted to see.

"If this is how you want it then I'll leave..." Her voice breaks at the last word and she turns to walk away and back home when Blue finally says something confusing.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I watched you die?" Blue asks which stops Piper in her tracks.

"What are you talking about?!" Piper quickly spins around to confront Blue, face contorted in anger, but her expression softens when she sees Nora's own tears running down her cheeks.

"It happened right here." She points to the ground in front of her, and Piper watches as her lover goes through a multitude of emotions. Blue smiles a sad smile, then her look turns to anger while her gaze stays fixed on the spot in front of her.

"Stimpaks won't help your body from melting when you get hit with acid from a Mireluk Queen," Nora explains a little more while lost in thought as Piper moves a little closer.

"She looked just like you, except she was younger." Blue quickly looks at the woman she loves, feeling Pipers fingers intertwine with her own. It helps ground her a little and gives her the reassurance she needs as her focus moves back to the ground in front of them. But she hates reliving this moment.

"All she wanted to do was help me...follow me once she learned my story and what I was trying to do. She was so driven and had everything to live for and all it did was get her killed."

"But that wasn't me." Piper is beginning to understand Blues actions as of late and tries to reassure her lover but Nora just scoffs. Saving the Commonwealth one settlement at a time seems to have taken its toll on the pre-war relic and Nora crumbling under the pressure is something that Piper has feared the most.

"No, it wasn't. This time." Nora turns to look directly at the Diamond City reporter, deep blue eyes that Piper gets lost in, searching the dark-haired woman for understanding, and continues. "But what if it is you next time!"

She takes Piper by both arms and pulls her in a little closer, eyes wide as she tries to get her point across. "Because if you keep following me then it will be you in a pile of ash, and I'll be responsible for making Nat an orphan!" Blue's voice always seems to carry that much more when she is upset and now is no different. Drawing attention to yourself is a good way to get yourself killed, but Piper lets her vent her frustrations.

"And I can't have that on my conscience." All Piper wants to do is hold the woman she loves but each time she moves closer, Nora pulls away. "I've already been the reason why so many have lost loved ones, and I won't be the reason Nat loses you too."

"You won't be." Piper can see the moisture begin to build up around the corner of her eyes and this time Nora does not pull away when she tries to comfort her and falls into the embrace.

"Don't push me away because you think I might get hurt. I agreed to go with you knowing full well what the risk was going to be. And for Christ sakes Blue I did watch you die, yet here you are." Talking about that time isn't any easier for Piper, even all these months later as she can still see Nora's bloodied body lying motionless on the ground after the mine went off; stimpaks barely saved her then as well.

Feeling Pipers arms around her seems to ease all of her worries that Nora had been holding onto. All of her dread about losing those closest in her life all over again is pushed from her thoughts as soon as the reporter pulls her in. The tears for the fallen and sobs for those that have been lost along the way flow a little easier while in Pipers embrace, and this is something that Blue has needed for a long time. She's felt lost over the past few months, since finding out the truth about her son, and the only thing that felt right was knowing that she was keeping Piper and Nat safe. It was the only thing that she thought that she could do right since she failed to protect her family from the bombs, and Shaun from being kidnapped. So hearing Pipers concerns that she was hurting innocent people erased all of the good that she had done in her mind and her focus was on all of the negative.

"You told me that I was perfect for you and I feel the same about you, so stop thinking that I'd be better off without you in my life." Hearing those words cause both women to swallow back what it would mean and how devastated they'd each be. They walk over to the side of the crumbled building and sit against what's left of the wall, next to each other. Piper puts an arm around her, pulling Blue close, as they watch the Nuka Cola float sign sway in the wind.

"The entire Commonwealth has been better off with you in it. The Minutemen and the settlements you've created are a testament to that." Piper looks at Nora who is staring off into the distance and sees her nod a little.

"You leave so much of yourself out there, Blue. My only concern is that with all of the work you've been doing to help others, that you've lost sight of yourself."

"I'm not sure who I am anymore," Nora says while laying her head in Piper's lap, sighing contently when she feels fingers run through her hair. "Or what I'm supposed to do next."

"I know it will be hard to see him again, but..." Piper refers to their upcoming mission and what will have to be done.

"But it has to be done. He's caused all of this and I refuse to watch the people I've come to care about suffer because of it. Son or not, this has to end." Nora finishes Piper's sentence.

Even with the conviction in Blues voice, Piper can still feel the tension increase while she talks about Shaun and what comes next. It's the reason why Piper has been worrying about her lover since Nora returned from her first visit to the Institute.

"It was so simple back then." Blue refers to her life before the war. "It wasn't better, just easy, or so I thought. We knew what we had to do and when to do it...we went to work, we went home to our families...nothing like now." Piper frowns a little when thinking back to how "easy" Blues life may have been considering that she wasn't allowed to be herself.

"We knew that there were dangers out in the world but it was easier for everyone to ignore them...until it was too late." The sadness in her voice breaks the reporter's heart but her curiosity about her lover's former life outweighs everything else.

Piper continues to listen to everything that Nora has to say while enjoying the closeness that they normally share. She is still annoyed that Nora chose to ignore her but hearing what she has to say erases her aggravation. Blue begins to tell her all about her family and what they were like and how much they would have loved Piper and Nat. Nora tells her everything that she has wanted to hear but was too afraid to ask about, especially when she goes into detail about how bad they'd pick on her if she had the chance to introduce them to Piper.

"They were relentless with the teasing, but only when I brought a girl home." Blue sits up from Piper's lap and looks at the ground in front of her, lost in her thoughts. "My grandmother especially, even though I always told her they were just friends. And they were, or so I thought. But she somehow knew." Nora's smile is contagious while she shakes her head a little while thinking back to that time in her life.

"My grandmother always knew." She repeats, and Piper continues to watch as her face contorts a little while seemingly trying to figure out how her grandmother knew so much without a word being spoken.

"Especially when Nate began to come around." Her eyes roll at the mention of her dead husband's name but the smile never leaves. Piper is about to burst at the seams as she sits quietly next to her lover, wanting desperately to have something to write with and ask all of her questions, but Nora is answering them anyway.

"I guess I was lying to myself and everyone around me when we got together and married. It wasn't really accepted for two women or men to be together in my family back then, or so I thought. So I guess I went with what I thought everyone else expected of me, all while ignoring what I wanted. I should have realized that everyone who mattered to me the most would not have cared, especially when I went overseas to school."

"Overseas! Really?" Pipers inquisitive side comes to the surface at the mention of taking a trip outside of the Commonwealth. To think, that someone she knew has traveled outside of the commonwealth is one thing, but to have actually gone to another country across the ocean is nearly unbelievable.

"Yeah..." Nora smiles and nods her head while hearing how excited Piper is. "I was studying international law, and had the opportunity to travel for a year, so I did."

"Wow Blue that's incredible!" Pipers voice has always soothed Nora and hearing it now helps her talk about a time in her life that she has closed off since waking up in the vault.

"It was amazing, and if I knew we could make it I'd take you there in a heartbeat, even though I'd rather keep the memories of what it looked like fresh. I wouldn't want to see it if it looked like this." She gestures towards the ruins that surround them "But I would love to be able to show you how beautiful it was." Nora pauses mid-sentence, and Piper watches while the pre-war relic falls deep into her own mind. Piper is left to listen to the of the creek of the Nuka Cola sign as it continues to sway in the wind while she looks over her lover's features in amazement. With the exception of a scar that runs along the side of her shaven head, her skin is flawless. It's a rare sight since most who live in this time have had to deal with some sort of radiation, or lived without shelter with the outside elements being unforgiving. She tilts her head to the side as she watches the smooth-skinned vault dweller think about her past and figures that even if Nora didn't show up with a blue vault suit that sooner or later the keen-eyed reporter would have figured out that she was not from this time. After a few moments, a smile appears and Blue continues.

"Each area I visited was full of so much history, especially my family's hometown of Pescara." The way that certain words roll off of Nora's tongue makes Piper weak in the knees. It is the only reason why she sat in on Nat's classes even though she learned a few words in the process, and she always made Blue speak to her in her native tongue while they were alone.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I met you in my previous life?"

"That actually doesn't surprise me at all, Blue," Piper admits aloud. She's already been full of surprises and miracles so why not this too.

"Yep. It was my second day at school. I knew no one and was having a hell of a time trying to find my classes. I was running late and literally ran into her, or you. Her name was Caterina, and she could have been your twin." Blue studies Pipers face for a while, making the reporter feel embarrassed under her gaze.

"She helped me pick up my stuff as I apologized profusely. It took a few moments before I even looked at her, I was so embarrassed, but once I did she took my breath away in that instant. She must have thought I was a buffoon." Nora laughs for what seems to be the first time in months but that laugh and her amazing smile quickly fade as she continues. "We were inseparable after that day... until I left."

Nora pauses and her expression stays somber while her voice trails off, and Piper realizes that this must be hard for her to relive. She squeezes her lover's hand and reassures her that her memories are not all sad, and it's okay to keep them to herself if it too hard to think about right now. They continue to sit in silence

"I didn't want to leave." Nora sighs again and shakes her head. "It was at that moment that I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. And I was all set to have my family send me my things and stay there when my mother told me that she had received a phone call from the adoption agency... and that changed everything."

"I left with a promise to her that I'd return soon, but..." Piper squeezes her hand so knows that she is safe and to continue.

"You couldn't get back." Piper finishes her sentence and watches Blue shake her head no.

"The next few months went by in a blur as Shaun became a part of my life, Nate wanted to be apart of his life, and did everything he could to convince me to stay. The longer I did the less of a reality my returning to her became, and then the bombs fell. The next thing I knew I was thawing out and walking towards Diamond City to have my breath taken away from me again. Only this time it was by you, and for some reason, I was given a second chance at what I lost all those years ago."

"You were given that chance because you are a good person and deserve it," Piper tells her lover while kissing the top of her hand as her heart melts at the romantic story.

They sit in silence a little while longer as they enjoy holding each other as Blue moves to in-between Pipers legs and leans her head back against her chest. Feeling the reporter's arms wrap around her releases the rest of her tension as they watch the sun go down on another day. As hard as it was to talk about, she actually feels better now that she has. Piper's been so patient with her and she is so lucky to have met the Diamond City reporter. She leans into the woman's embrace who pulls her a little closer and is content with just lying here for the rest of the night.

"Well Blue we better get going I guess. Don't want Preston to worry too much." Piper breaks the silence and is about to get up and lead Blue back to the Castle when Blue takes ahold of her hand and holds on to it.

"Stay here with me for a little while longer." Piper can hear the desperation in Blues voice and even though it will only be for a few moments longer, Piper knows that Nora needs as much time away from reality as she can.

They continue to sit in silence for the rest of the time while watching the sun go down on another day, and waiting for Preston to give the signal that they were about to go into the Institute. Piper knows that Blue has been dreading confronting Shaun for a final time but it has come to the point of only one being left standing between the Commonwealth and the Institute. They soon get the signal from Garvey, then reluctantly walk back hand in hand to the castle while they try to keep each other's nerves at bay, and they both feel closer to each other than ever before.

X

X

X

X

"I didn't expect to see you again." Shaun's words still haunt her as she makes her way back to the transport room after planting the bomb.

"I'm sorry it has come to this Shaun." She had tried to be as sincere as possible, all while distancing herself from the Institute leader, but her actions and voice contradicted what she was saying.

"You're sorry? You can't be that sorry if you are here going through with this."

He had been so angry with her but it only lasted a short time since his strength was non-existent. She didn't necessarily want him to die and even offered to bring him to the surface, but all it did was anger him more.

"It's not enough that I lay here dying...Now you plan on what. Destroying everything?" Blue had expected Shaun to be upset with her. She was going to destroy his life's work, and she was ready for it, but seeing him lie in his bed dying, hearing the pain in his words to go along with the hurt in his eyes was nearly too much. She nearly called off the entire thing but the thought of Piper and Nat went along with a massive explosion, and gunfire brought her back to reality, and she knew that it had to happen.

"Tell me then. Under what righteous pretense have you justified this atrocity?" Shaun had asked and for a moment she couldn't come up with an answer until Piper's words ran through her mind.

"It's for the greater good. The Commonwealth deserves to determine its own fate." If she would have said this a year ago she would not have believed the words any more than Shaun. But now she had a lot to lose, and as she waits for the last of the Minutemen to meet at the rendezvous point, she knows that this was the right thing to do.

"Is everyone here?" She yells over the gunfire coming from behind her while grabbing for Piper's hand, as the last of the Minutemen burst through the door firing at the last remaining courses.

"I think so," Piper says and gives Blues hand a squeeze.

"Alright Sturges, let's get us the hell out of here." Garvey orders.

"Okay, but you may want to take a look at this." She hears Sturges say behind her.

Feeling a sudden jolt of fear running throughout her body as the thought of them not being able to make it back to the surface, makes her feel numb. Instead, she comes face to face with something worse. A ten-year-old boy. She is speechless as it stares back at her and it makes her wish for the numbness flowing through her to become permanent. This is not what she wants and hoped that she didn't have to deal with this, ever.

"Please, mom...Don't leave me here! I want to go with you."

"Why are you calling me mom?"


	10. "Who will I watch the sunsets with?" Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Way too long in between updates but I had had this written and then realized I needed to change it up and write some fluff. Mainly because we all need more fluff in our lives. This is set directly after The Curiosity of Piper Wright so there is a small amount of angst. If you have read that story then I thank you but if not then this chapter should give you an idea as to what happened.
> 
> And I would also like to thank those of you who have left a comment on this. They are amazingly kind and some of the nicest I've ever received so I hope I continue to keep your interest.
> 
> On we go!!
> 
> #vegasstrong

 Running her fingers through silky black hair, Nora looks over her sleeping lover and forces a smile while one word runs through her mind; Family.

It's a word that she thought had lost all meaning after she walked out of the vault that had been her home for the past two hundred years. Seeing the destruction left in the wake of the bombs was difficult but she pushed herself to keep going in order to find what was left of her family. That journey ended almost as soon as it began with how difficult it was to find her son, but Piper ensured that she did everything in her power to help Blue find Shaun. The reporter has helped her every step of the way since arriving at Diamond City and brought new meaning to the word family, and to her life.

When she learned that everything and everyone that she had ever known was gone it nearly broke the resolve of the Great War survivor, but Piper made sure that she was there for Nora. The woman who means everything to the pre-war relic, and who are beginning to wake up has made all of her sacrifices worth it. So the possibility of losing her, which nearly happened a few days ago, is extremely difficult to think about even though Piper is safe. She had been taken by the Raiders and Gunners and held

Piper had been lucky since neither of those groups normally took captives unless they were worth something. She and the Vault-Tec salesman had been traveling together and were headed to Croup Manor when they got involved in a firefight. They tried to protect a family that had been traveling to a settlement but were overrun. They were all about to be executed when someone recognized the reporter for not just who she was, but who she was affiliated with.

_"This is that bitch that's fucking that other bitch that's been giving us all those problems."_ Someone had said, or something along those lines. When Piper realized that they weren't going to kill her is when she yelled that the man in yellow was with her as well and almost as valuable.

The Raiders and Gunners, who were forced to join together because of Nora, used the reporter to lure the lone Vault 111 survivor out to their base in order to get rid of the one person who has been a pain in the ass since she woke up. At least they tried to. It was close and Blue will have scars from this fight as well, but it didn't matter what happened to Nora as long as Piper was safe. And as the former Raider captives blue eyes fully open and focus on the woman who saved her, Nora's smile disappears for a moment when she thinks of what might have happened if things had gone differently.

"Hey." Blue softly says, forcing another, more convincing smile while looking deeply into her lover's eyes. When she feels the anger rise and tears begin to form from her mind continuing to play the what-if game, is when she leans down and lightly kisses Piper on the lips in order to convince herself that Piper is truly safe. Failing miserably to rid her mind of her upsetting thoughts of what could have happened or what might have been, is what has plagued Nora since they've been home and now is no different.

"How long have I been out?" Piper is always more alluring when she wakes up, especially when she stretches her lithe body almost like a cat. Voice smoky, eyes half-lidded and filled with curiosity for what the day may bring, and it normally turned Blue on to no end. But right now Nora is just happy that the woman with the surprisingly perfect skin is able to wake up at all.

In the past, Nora had noticed that the reporter had a certain look. It was her look, is what Nora calls it, about her each morning. It was almost as if the Diamond City reporter was anticipating the next big story was about to happen but the more they woke up next to each other, the more Blue noticed a different look. It was a look of desire aimed towards the Vault 111 survivor, and it always made Nora blush. The normally reserved Diamond City reporter admitted that Blue is the last thing that she thinks about when she falls asleep and the first upon waking, so it is easy to be curious about not only what the day will bring but how lucky she is to have such a perfect person in her life. The same is true for the prewar relic, but right now Nora's focus is on the last three days, and not the reporter who is currently running her fingers through Nora's hair.

"Not long..." Blue pulls the reporter into an embrace while trying to keep her emotions at bay.

It helps each time she hears or looks at her, but the thought of Piper being killed by her captures is the only vision that her mind's eye continues to show her.

"Feels like I've been sleeping for days," Piper says lazily while she kisses her lover's cheek then stretches some more to get the kinks out. It _has_ been days since they all returned safely and both women needed to recoup from their injuries. Nora was badly bruised from all of the fightings and as much as Piper wanted to take care of the Pre-war relic, Blue insisted that Piper relax. That she had been through a lot as well. The reporter agreed, but only after she" thanked" Blue for saving her numerous times.

It was amazing to feel the reporters body on her own once again, but no matter how many times Piper "thanked her," Nora found it difficult to think about anything else except her current thoughts, and whether or not anyone may have been left come back and finish the job.

This has caused Nora to have many sleepless nights while her mind continued to show her unwanted visions. She decided not to fight it and held the Diamond City reporter each night with one hand protectively around her while the other held onto her revolver. It was Kellogg's gun and it had saved them both on countless occasions. But the more she held onto it the more she feared that she'd become just like the Institute's assassin. Cold and callous, with no regard for human life is what Nick Valentine had said to her after torturing the Raiders who came to Diamond City with the message that the two factions had Piper. At the time she didn't care what anyone thought or said, one of her family members needed to be rescued. She would have done the same for any of them, to even include torture. But over the past few nights, her decisions seemed to keep her awake so she waited if her visions would come true. She wasn't sure what if anything was going to happen while she listened to the sounds of Diamond City each night. All she knew was that Piper would be safe.

"Guess I needed it though." The reporter's voice momentarily breaks her out of her thoughts. She did need it, but so did Nora. Yet each time she closed her eyes a vision of Piper's mutilated body is the first image that her mind would show her.

"But so do you. I wish you'd sleep." Half listening to her lover, Blue thinks back to the last few days and what she was willing to go through in order to get her back. What makes it worse is that she would have no problem with lighting someone on fire with a tire around their head even though she knew it was a horrible death, and only people who were truly evil could think of doing such a thing. She had heard it from Nate during one of his drunken sessions where he would yell at her about how easy she had had it compared to how horrible the war was for him.

_"You think you have it so hard!"_ He'd say after a few shots of whiskey. _"They used to put tires around our soldiers and fill it with gas. Light it on fire and watch them burn. Just for fun."_

She wanted to put that part of her life behind her but as soon as the opportunity arose she did exactly what Nate had told her.

_"Took twenty minutes to die some of them. A bullet to the skull is more humane."_  

To this day Nora isn't sure which was worse; him putting his hands on her or him being emotionally abusive. When he wasn't being a complete schmuck and needed to be consoled due to everything he had witnesses is when Nora knew how horrible war truly was, yet even to this day it hasn't changed. And as terrible as it was to listen to, she had no problem with doing it to someone in order to save a loved one's life. Did that make her any different just due to the fact that it was a loved one? Did it make her worse because she didn't care?

_'But I only meant to do it to a mannequin.'_  She tries to defend her actions against herself. _'Yeah, but the other three died anyway because of what you did.'_

"Did the Vault-Tec guy make it out alright?" Once again Piper thankfully breaks her out of her thoughts.

"He is." Nora nods and it seems that this conversation is helping her get back to normal. "We found him in a cell on the lower floor I guess." Nora had been knocked unconscious during the fight when the leader of the Raiders nearly choked her to death before Macready shot him. So most of the information as to what had happened was told to her by everyone else who was there.

"You saved his life, Piper." If nothing else good came out of this, at least the reporter wouldn't feel guilty about how she saved someone.

"I'm glad he's okay." Pipers demeanor changes as she shivers a little when she continues to go over what had happened. "I just kept thinking about how he was going to turn feral while I was in the cell with him..." Blue didn't even think about that. 

"I still don't know how you kept it from Nat but I'm glad you did..." Or the fact that she'd have to tell a certain little girl that the only family she had left was dead. What would she have told Nat? It would have been the toughest thing she had to do since she woke up.

Piper continues, without realizing that Nora has been staring at a spot on the wall for the last few moments.

"I guess we really pissed off all of the Gunners and Raiders for them to join together and go after us..."

Not having the reporter in her life is the worst thought that the lone vault 111 survivors thought she could have, but having to see Nat's face and watch the little girl's world fall apart would be that much worse. The tears begin to run uncontrollably down her cheeks which gains Piper's attention.

"Goodness Blue. What's wrong?" It took a little while but the reporter finally realizes how upset she is, and wraps her arms around the pre-war relic once she looks up to see Blue crying.

"I need you to do me a favor."

"Name it," Piper says wiping away the moisture that is falling and gives Nora a reassuring kiss on the cheek.

"I need you to promise me that..." She is about to ask the reporter to never go out without her again but knows it isn't fair. Piper has been going off and getting into, and out of trouble on her own for years. It would be like Piper asking Blue to not help another settlement or not go after the Institute to find her son.

"What is it Blue?" The worry is written on all over the Diamond City reporters face as she looks over her lover's features. She runs her hand through Nora's hair to try to get her to relax and open up.

"I know you're upset about what happened." Piper continues after Blue stays silent. "I get it. I truly do, but I'm okay. You saved me, and I know that you probably don't want me to go out on my own again, but that would be like me asking you to not help the people of the Commonwealth."

That statement finally causes a smile to appear on Nora's face with how well the two of them know each other. "I was actually thinking the same thing and I know it isn't fair. To either of us, but having these thoughts of you being taken away from me is too much for me to handle I guess. With everything going on I didn't get a chance to actually think about any of this. How it would affect me and Nat, but it's all I think about since everything has calmed down and I'm not able to sleep these past few nights."

"And I've had to deal with those same visions for more than I care to count as well." Piper reminds Blue that she isn't the only one who worries about these things. "But these are actual memories for me. They are real." Pipers voice breaks a little when she mentions the past few times she's had to jab her lover in the chest with as Stim-pak, not knowing if she'd wake up.

"Watching you die once was one time too many. And I've witnessed it more times than I care to remember." It is now Piper's turn to show her emotions.

"I know..." Nora gently kisses Piper and looks into her eyes. "So I guess we both have to deal with who each of us are, and continue to watch each other's backsides."

"I think I can do that." Piper smiles then bites her lip while she gently taps her lover on her backside.

"I do like watching this part of your body." The reporter continues with a slight squeeze.

"Yes, and how many times has that gotten us into trouble, since you only seem to able to focus on my butt and nothing else?" Nora says which earns an incredulous look, a shake of the head and another slap on the butt by the reporter.

"Need I remind you of who stepped on the landmine because a certain someone wasn't paying attention?" It has always amazed Nora how quick-witted Piper is, and how long they can keep their banter going.

"Need I remind _you,_ of who was the one who was staring at my ass like a piece of meat?" Blue closes her eyes and sticks her nose up as if she is offended by the notion, even though she is anything but. Until Piper continues. 

"That's because you are," Piper says as if it's an obvious fact. "You're my piece of thawed out meat." Piper places both hands on her backside and squeezes. 

"Hey..." Nora says wide-eyed. Not really knowing where that came from, but amused all the same. "I kinda, don't, take offense to that." Kissing the reporter, Nora feels a little better as they fall back into some sort of a normal rhythm. It's good to laugh again, even if it is at her own expense.

But as their words trail off the horrible thoughts creep back in and the tone in the room becomes darker.

"Don't ever go off on your own again..." The playful banter is forgotten and Blue turns serious once again.

"Please."  She is practically begging the reporter.

"I thought we were past this?" Piper begins with a long sigh and a shake of her head. The smile is erased from her lips as she leans back into the pillow in order to look at Nora fully.

"We were..." Nora wants to stop. Knows that this isn't fair to ask of Piper, but her mind won't stop showing her these horrible images. "I just can't imagine my life without you. I already lost one family, I can't lose another. Besides, if you're gone then who will I watch the sunsets with?"

"Goodness Blue. That is one of the sweetest things you've ever said to me." Piper pulls Nora down to give her a much-needed kiss. "But I have you to protect me so no, I am not going anywhere. I understand that you're upset about this, Blue, but look at it from my perspective. I've had a target on my back with those guys since way before we met."

"I know. But now that target is even bigger..." Blue begins to argue but the stubborn reporter is not one to be left behind when there is a story to be told or one to lose an argument.

"But nothing. You took care of all them, and even though there may be another group to try and undo everything that we have done over the past few months-- _we_ will be there, not just you. You didn't do this alone and you are not going to finish it alone either."

It's at this point when Nora realizes that she has, in fact, lost this argument. And not just because of what she has just said either as Piper has somehow gotten the Prewar relic on her back and is currently straddling her. Nora is about to say that they aren't done with the discussion when Piper slowly starts to unbutton her shirt. Next to her red Jacket and hat, this sleep shirt that hangs down to her knees, buttons up in the front, and is way too big for the Diamond City reporter, is her next favorite thing to wear. Nora had to hold back a laugh the first time she saw Piper in it with how 'old lady like' it looked, but right now it is the most amazing piece of clothing the young journalist has.

Falling from her shoulders and farther down as each clasp is undone to unveil her lover's perfect body. And it is at this point that Nora finally sees the woman in front of her for the first time since they've been back. Piper is, in fact, safe, and no matter what her mind may be showing her about Piper's demise, none of it happened, but right now is.

"You are my savior." Piper leans down to kiss Blue on the lips and when she sits back up, another button is undone. 

Nora's breathing is becoming more erratic with each moment as the anticipation of whats to come is torturing the prewar relic with how slow Pipers slender fingers are moving. But Piper seems hell bent on dragging this out for as long as she can.

"You will always be my savior, and more importantly my family." Piper leans back down to kiss Nora again but moves to her ear and Blue melts when Piper whispers. "Or how you say it,  _Famiglia."_   In a sultry voice.

"Christ, Piper..." Nora begins to squirm under the raven-haired woman to try and remove her own clothing but Piper squeezes her legs to stop her.

"That's my job." She says with a satisfied smile. When Blue nods in agreeance, Piper bites her lower lip while she continues to remove her shirt the rest of the way. Dropping it on the floor next to their bed and Nora is in awe of her lover's perfect body. 

"So beautiful." Blue tries to sit up but Piper places a finger on Nora's lips and gently pushes her back down shaking her head back and forth.

"No talking." She commands the prewar relic and slaps at her hands when she starts to run them up the reporter's sides.

"And no touching."

Blue's whimpers nearly sound like Dogmeat when he begs for some food which only makes Pipers smile grow wider. 

"Sit up." Piper insists and as Blue sits up, the reporter pulls off the Great war survivors tank shirt, exposing her own chest. 

"Perfect," Piper says in return. Feeling her lover's eyes on her, examining her like a piece of meat may have made Blue make a stupid comment at this point, but Piper is doing everything that she can to make Nora safe and wanted. She lets out a slight moan when Piper's lips press against her own and she falls back to the mattress, taking her lover with her. When their lips part, both are now breathing harder than before and she can see the reporter's eyes darken with desire. 

She begins to leave featherlight kisses along Blues neck and shoulders. Blue sucks in a quick breath when Piper takes her ear between her teeth and bites down a little. This is driving the Vault 111 survivor crazy since Piper has her arms pinned above her head while the reporter kisses every area of skin that Nora has. It reminds the former vault dweller of their first time together when the reporter admitted to never being with anyone before Nora but elicited feelings from her that she had never felt before, and now is no different.

Making her way to down to her chest, Piper releases Blues hands and slowly runs her fingers down her arms, across the side of her face and down until she takes Nora's breast in her hand.

"God, yes." Feeling her lover's deft hand caressing her makes all of her horrible thoughts from before vanish. But when Piper takes her other breast in her mouth to suck on an already hardened nipple is when all thoughts turn to her lover and only her. 

"More." Nora pleads and places both of her hands on the back of Piper's head to keep her in place. This is driving the prewar relic crazy but she nearly peaks when she feels an amazing sensation as a slender thigh pushes on her core while her lover pulls away a little and still has her mouth around her breast. Blue feels an amazingly talented tongue flick back and forth while pulls away and continues to sucks. All of this is causing Nora's eyes to roll into the back of her head. Head tilting back, mouth open while a low moan escapes her lips as her lover continues to cause these amazing feelings to flow throughout her body. Each time that they have been together has been better than the last and this is no different. Nora is convinced that one touch on her throbbing core will send her over but Piper is taking her time. Blues eyes open and look down at her lover just in time to see what is going on when Piper releases her nipple through her teeth, and then watches in anticipation as the reporter slowly licks her way to her other breast and repeats the action.

"God Piper, this feels amazing." Blue wraps her legs around her lover to try and relieve some of the pressure that has built up in her core but she knows that the only thing that will help is currently busy, and she isn't sure that she wants Piper to stop at this moment. As if she is listening to her thoughts, Piper stops everything she is doing and goes back to telling the vault dweller what to do again.

"Now lift up!" The journalist takes her hands and slides them under Nora's ass just as Blue does as she is told. She then grabs onto her shorts and pulls them off in one motion.

"Anything else, your majesty?" Nora's voice has traces if irritation along with some amusement but it's only because Piper stopped.

"Yes. Shut up and let me thank you." There is a smile in her voice that is mixed with something along the lines of determination as she continues to kiss down Nora's body, making her way to in between parted legs. Feeling her lover's tongue slowly run up her soaked opening to her extremely sensitive bundle is about all that the vault dweller can handle, but she tries to hold on in order to make this last as long as it can. Piper continues to make Blue feel amazing sensations course through her body with each stroke of her tongue but its when she adds one of her lithe fingers is what pushes Blue over.

"Oh my God Piper. I'm going to..." Unable to finish as a moan escapes while Nora's fingers dig into the bedding and toes curl as she climaxes. It feels like the longest one she's ever had, even after Piper stops what she is doing and climbs up next to her extremely tired and satisfied lover, it still lingers.

"I want you to know something," Blue says after a moment of catching her breath. Sitting up and caressing Pipers cheek to gain her attention after the sensations slowly stop, so she's able to look into her eyes when she continues.

"Just having you in my life is all the thanks I need." Her heartfelt words are met with a deep passionate kiss, and if Nora wasn't extremely exhausted all of a sudden she'd probably roll Piper over and give thanks as well. And as their mouths pull away from each other is when Blue sees Piper looking back at her with all of the love that the Diamond City reporter possesses. It's a look that Nora has seen before and is one that she hopes to see for the rest of her life.

"Ti amor anch'io, Blue." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	11. "I miss the days when I felt indestructible" Wage War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to thank everyone again for all of the support for this story. I am having a blast with this. So much so that I think that this turned into my longest chapter to date. Hope you all enjoy.

"I'm not so sure that this is the smartest idea you've ever had, Blue," Piper says carefully while watching her lover put as many ammo and stim- packs into her bag as she can. Seeing Blue do this has caused Piper's stomach to tie in knots at what it means; she's leaving again. It’s another mission that Blue has found herself on, and other than the armory at Sanctuary Hills, the reporter has never seen Nora try and carry so many weapons before.

"Thanks for the confidence." Nora's voice is laced with sarcasm and Piper can see her eyes roll as she continues to pack, but there is a smile on her face all the same.

"You know what I mean." Piper hopes her words sound as desperate as she feels. Seeing her lover go off again, and this time without her, is difficult to deal with. Especially after being together for the last six months without the worry of the Institute, or a mission to go out on to help another settlement. Other than Blue overseeing her projects across the Commonwealth to rid the area of any remaining threats, they have spent every moment together, and it has been amazing.

"You're going to some far off place, that no one has ever heard of, not knowing anything about the area, what's up there, or what you'll be doing, and you're only bringing Nick and a bag full of weapons..." Piper counts off the reasons why this is a bad idea. She watches Blue nod her head at each reason and continue to grab as many weapons from the locker in their Home Plate home, as she can carry.

"Does that sound about right?" Blue lets out a long sigh as an answer but finally turns to face her lover after Piper becomes agitated.

"Well does it?!"

"It does." Blue puts her hands up in front of her to stop the upset reporter, as she turns to face her worried lover. Piper knows that this is just Blue trying to put her mind at ease but it isn't going to work- this time.

"And I know this isn't an ideal time to go," taking her lovers hands into her own, Piper feels Nora squeeze a little to try and reassure her but leaving her family here while Nora runs off to fight a new enemy doesn't feel right, even with Blues reasons.

"But we have the Raiders and Gunners on the run out of the Commonwealth. Most of the Super mutants are gone, while Desdemona and the Railroad are taking care of the rest of the misplaced synths." Nora pulls the Diamond City reporter into an embrace, which only makes things worse for Piper. The warmth of Blues body against her own just reminds the reporter of all of the nights prior, and how amazing a time it had been. Normally Piper would become flushed just thinking about it but only one thought runs through her mind; What if this is the last time that they will ever see each other? She wants to hold on and not let go while expressing her concerns but the Lone Vault 111 survivors soothing voice distracts her from her dark thoughts.

"The borders that are being built around each settlement is making everyone feel safer by the day. The Minutemen have enough members now that we have constant patrols, day and night. And..." Piper falls into Blue even more, when Nora stops and presses her lips against her own. The kiss is nothing short of amazing yet there is desperation in it, especially when strong arms pull her closer. Piper would normally only be able to concentrate on her lover as amazingly talented hands gently run up and down her back, and their tongues glide easily across one another, but the tension the reporter feels seems to double. It is times like this that Piper will miss the most, and she can only assume that Nora feels the same way.

"And?" Piper asks breathlessly in between one last kiss.

"And. Before we know it you'll be grilling the new Mayor of the Commonwealth- telling them how bad of a job they are doing." Nora flashes a smile that earns one in return, albeit briefly, as Piper lays her head on her lover's shoulder.

"Technically you're already the Mayor. You need to be here in order for me to tell you how much you suck." Piper relaxes a little into the embrace while Blue laughs a little.

"All that has to happen is an official election, so it's all the more reason to stay, so you can see the work that we've started, finally completed." Piper lifts her head from Blues shoulder to look at her lover's features as her thoughts run through her mind about them eventually yelling at each other over whats best for the Commonwealth. Then what would happen at home when they "make up" with each other.

There are other thoughts about Blue being hurt or captured by someone who is trying to make a name for themselves and take over the Commonwealth mixed in that she desperately wishes would get out of her mind. Or there are others- like what if this girl doesn't want to be found and hurts Nora so her parents don't find her. So many worse case scenarios are flashing through her mind and she just wants it to stop. She has had thoughts like this before but fewer since the Institute was destroyed, fewer still since the Raiders and Gunners have been run out of town, but Piper still hates feeling this way. This is supposed to be their time, especially since Nora is no longer needed to be directly involved with anything that is happening with the Minutemen.

"And no Mayor, elected or otherwise should be off fighting when you have an entire army under your control. Especially after all that you've done."

As soon as the Institute was destroyed, Blue set everything into motion to rid the Commonwealth of every enemy that she deemed a threat. It wasn't hard as she recruited as many people as she could in order to get rid go the Raiders, Gunners, any remaining synths still loyal to the Institute, as well as Super Mutants. People saw a life without fighting or worried about someone trying to steal their crops, and they loved the idea. Everyone who ever went against the Commonwealth was targeted, and Blue had been able to rally people from all over to join the Minutemen and push out those that threatened their homes. Even former Brotherhood of Steel members, that were still lingering in the once great city, decided to join. So Piper cannot fathom why she wants to leave to some unknown place until a thought goes through her mind about when Shaun came to live with them and how Nora reacted.

"Or is there some other reason you want to leave?" Piper looks over her love for her reaction. From her red hair that is half shaved on one side but long enough on the other to fall into her deep blue eyes, to her perfectly shaped nose, her lips that she never wants to stop kissing, Piper sees no reaction and knows that she is reaching. Even still, she knows that there may be some truth to what she has asked while she focuses on the memories of what happened after Nora came back from destroying the Institute. She had brought Shaun or a synth that was supposed to represent Shaun, back with her and it took all of Blues closest friends to convince her to not give up on the synth and let him be apart of their family. She had threatened to leave with Nick to go to Far Harbor and bring Shaun to Desdemona during that time but decided to stay and be the family she needed so desperately.

"No, Shaun is as much as my family as you or Nat. It was hard in the beginning, you know that." Nora admits as her eyes search Pipers features. The reporter's eyes look away, feeling bad for even mentioning that time.

"I don't want to leave any of you behind, but there is a missing child, so I have to go and help. I can't leave Nick to do this alone, and you'll be safe, and we'll be together again soon- I promise." Piper knows enough not to argue any further. Nora has always had a soft spot for kids in need, and she'd drop everything she was doing to save a missing child, no matter what was happening.

"I know." Piper sounds like a child in this moment while she looks down in embarrassment and she silently chastises herself for being so selfish. But the question of when was it going to be their time continued to be asked, but so far remains unanswered.

"Hey." Nora gently lifts her gaze to meet her own with two fingers under her chin, and gently kisses her lips. "It will be our time soon enough."

X

X

X

X

Not much was said while the three walked up to the Nakano home. Piper insisted that she at least accompany her, Nick, and a small contingency of Minutemen forces up the coast of the Commonwealth. It was mainly to see her off, but to also make sure that this wasn't some sort of trap. Piper was nothing if not cautiously thorough in her investigations, and she was having a hard time finding any information on the area known as Far Harbor. But Nick knew the family, trusted what they were saying, and when she heard the desperation from the young girl's parents, her heart broke for them. It was in that moment that she knew that Blue was the best person for the job. Even still, she nearly shoved Blue onto the Verti-bird that arrived to bring two power armor suits for Nora's trip but thought against it because if the roles were reversed, and this was Nat, then she'd expect Nora to help as much as she could.

"I'll only be a few weeks, I promise. I know you want to come, but this will be the perfect time for you and Nat to spend some time to get to know Shaun. Plus, Preston is going to need your help leading while I'm gone. And if it goes longer I'll make sure to keep in touch so you won't worry."

"If it goes longer than a few weeks then I'm coming up," Piper promises while giving her lover a kiss goodbye, and a look that says don't argue while receiving one of understanding in return. After that moment, Piper remembers waving to Nora as the Prewar relic was standing on the boat with Nick and their supplies, slowly drifting off into the distance.

That was nearly three months ago since that day. Three months since Piper said those words, and the longing to see her lover as well as the ache she has to hold her has been nearly too much for her to handle. And as Piper holds onto whatever she can in her own tiny boat that is getting tossed around on the rough water, while trying to keep her lunch down with each rolling wave that hits, her one and only thought is of Blue.

_"Tornerò prima di sapere, mio amore."_ Piper's knees nearly gave out when Blue whispered those words right before she left. That she'd be back before Piper realized, that she loves her more than anything, and the temptation to throw her down on the ground in front of everyone after hearing these words was high, but Piper had to show some restraint.

" _Ti riprenderò il mondo."_ Before they attacked the Institute Nora had told Piper all about her trip overseas and the reporter loved each second of it. Blue had told her that if she couldn't bring her to see the world then "she'd bring the world to her," with a story about every place that she had been to. And this trip was going to add to the list of stories that the Pre-war relic had already told her.

But the lack of communication from Far Harbor made Piper think the worst, and she became desperate to get up there. It took more than two months for Piper to fulfill her promise of heading to Far Harbor since losing contact due to unforeseen circumstances- namely not having a boat. The ship that Nick and Nora took up there had yet to come back after only a little over a week of carrying letters to the reporter as well as asking for supplies. Piper became worried after the first day of no response and demanded that she be brought up there. Preston couldn't give her a Verti-bird since there was only one that worked and it was being used as border patrol, so Piper was forced to take the other boat up the coast.

Unfortunately, that boat was too badly damaged to use until Piper convinced, or rather threatened, Kenji to fix it. It took two full months for the fisherman to finish; even with the Minutemen bringing him all of the parts that he needed. But after a few failed attempts, that right now Piper is trying not to think about, he was finally able to get it to stay afloat and running.

The Diamond City reporter is a bundle of nerves while being stuck on this boat and has contemplated turning around and would have if not for the boat being on autopilot. But she knows that Nora is in trouble. Has known that this trip was going to go bad from the start for the prewar relic, and her mind is everywhere all at once.

Taking a deep breath, Piper relaxes a moment in order to try and focus on one problem at a time. Nothing, that may or may not have happened to Nora will matter if she doesn't make it up there, so she concentrates on the problem at hand, the boat that she is on. It's her first time ever on one and up until a few days ago, it had a huge hole in it, so she has been checking for leaks every so often which isn't helping her nerves. Trying to keep her mind off of all of her upsetting thoughts, and after another thorough inspection, she stands on the front of this floating death trap, or bow, as it is apparently called, and looks out over the horizon, taking in the amazing view. It is the first time that she has actually stopped and appreciated it.

In the past, her thoughts on the subject of water were whether or not she was drinking or bathing in overly radioactive liquid, and if the water purifiers actually worked. The majority of the time that they were near any kind of water they would find themselves running away or fighting some sort of creature. Now she is actually traveling on something that she has feared the most, and it's mainly due to the dangers of the unknown that lies below, but she has to admit that Nora was right- the view is amazing. She only wishes that she could be sharing this moment with Blue instead of coming to rescue her.

In the beginning, Nora had kept her promise and sent letters back to her with the messages returning on the boat that she had taken up there. It was self-guided and Nora had mentioned that it would be perfect for two reasons; supplies and sending word to Piper. Her first letter arrived after the second day, and in it, she talked about the locals that didn't take kindly to strangers. It also mentioned that the Children of Atom were causing problems, and a compound full of Synths were nearby that may be the area where the girl she was looking for was held up. She went on to say how each of the factions were fine to deal with on their own but once any of the others were mentioned to one another is when it seemed like a ticking time bomb.

Piper hated reading about how she had to fight enemies after her first day there that the locals deal with on a regular basis. She described how some were the same as in the Commonwealth, like Ghouls and Mirelucks. While others were creatures that she wished she had never seen before. There was even a short sentence about some radioactive fog that engulfed the entire island, but the part that caught Piper's attention the most was that Nora had already found the girl she was looking for. More letters would arrive on a regular basis and told Piper what was happening, which always brightened her day, but made her worry all the more since there wasn't anything saying that she was coming home. Soon a supply line was formed from Far Harbor down to the Commonwealth where items were sent back to a certain reporter and her sister and it gave hope to the family that she left behind.

There were even rare parts that Shaun had requested but Piper knew that the boy was really only hoping that his mother would return and not abandon him. With each day and each letter received, Piper worried a little less until they came less frequently, and eventually stopped.

Now her stomach is rolling from a combination of the movement of the boat and her nerves at seeing her lover. Slowly taking a drink of her water to calm her nausea, enjoying the slight reprieve, all while wondering how people from Nora's time traveled like this, Piper stands to look out along the horizon, hoping to see a glimpse of the shoreline and possibly a familiar face. If this was under normal circumstances, Piper thinks to herself, that this may have been a pleasant trip. That she would be enjoying the slight breeze that seems to be constant while she looked out over the vast ocean. Nora would be holding her from behind and whispering to her how fascinating each far off land is that she had visited. Piper opened the floodgates since that fateful day before they attacked the Institute. Nora finally opened up about her past in great detail and has continued each day since. The Diamond City reporters favorite time of the day was watching the sunset but now even more so as it seems to evoke a memory of her distant past each time they watched the sun go down. Now all Piper wishes she could have is one last sunset, one last story, as she tries to think of better times, but her mind and stomach have other ideas.

Taking slow deliberate breaths to try and calm the rumbling in her stomach, as Kenji's words run through her mind, telling her to concentrate on a far-off spot on the horizon if she got nauseous, but it is not working. Nothing is, especially while the events of the last few days run through her mind. Nicks assistants words and the worried look she gave Piper when she told her that there hadn't been any contact in a while and to please bring Nick and Nora back in one piece. How she hated the fact that they even went up there but understood at the same time. The look of apprehension on the faces of Nat and Shaun after the reporter told them that she was on her way to find out what happened. Piper couldn't figure out if they were concerned about her own well being or what she might find when she gets up here, but it was probably both. And finally, the last letter that she received.

 

_"I gained the trust of the locals by killing a Mireluck Queen. They called it a Rite of Passage I guess. Then I waisted most of my ammo trying to kill a huge crab that I had as a pet when I was a kid, but the one I had as a child fit in my hand, while this one was in a school bus. There were ghouls who didn't attack me because they were too busy watching a movie- weird right?. Nick apparently has a "brother" who has a shady past- even weirder. And the children of Atom are trying to murder the entire island- surprise. And oh yeah the girl I found, Kasumi thinks she is a synth and doesn't want to come home."_

_Love Blue._

Goodness Blue. What have you gotten yourself into? Piper thought after reading the letter.

The Children of Atom had been a thorn in everyone's side but kept to themselves for the most part. Nora had a few run-ins with them but primarily stayed away due to the amount of radiation that the zealots loved to be around. Her mind began to race at the fact that Nick had a brother and a chill went through her at the thought of Blue fighting a Mireluck Queen. The few that they did encounter they had to use most of their ammo to kill and they both nearly lost their lives in each encounter. Nick was a decent shot and was not affected too much by radiation or Mireluck acid but Piper was not comfortable with the aging synth being the only one to watch her lovers back. Now there are new enemies to worry about and the need to get to off of the boat and see Blue grows that much more.

"Dammit, why did I let you go off by yourself?" Piper chastises herself aloud. Her gut kept telling her to insist on going with her or at the very least take Danse or Strong, but her mind could only focus on Blue leaving.

"Just please be okay."

Soon the shoreline comes into view, and Piper breaths a sigh of relief as she will be able to stand on solid ground, but when no one is there to greet her, the Diamond City reporter sighs sadly. She isn't sure why she expected anyone to be here when she arrived. It's not like anyone knew that she was coming, and as she comes to a stop she is a little surprised when someone does come out of a shack to assist her in tying off her boat.

"Thank you," Piper says to the elderly man wearing an old blue overcoat, whose skin is as weathered as a Brahmin. And as she swings her bag over her shoulder and steps out onto stable land, surprised at her wobbly legs, Piper offers her hand in thanks but lowers it when he scoffs at her. This guy looks and smells like he hasn't bathed in years, but he just helped her so she can deal with the smell, but maybe not his attitude. "Can you help me find someone. She came here not too long ago on a boat similar to this," Piper motions to the boat behind her. "she was with a synth in an overcoat..."

"No!" The man says sharply interrupting her. It catches Piper off guard and when the elderly dockworker gets into her face, Piper can't think of anything to say or do except to back away.

"We don't take kindly to outsiders, so I suggest you get back on your boat and leave." The young reporter doesn't understand what exactly is happening since this is the same man who just helped her tie the boat off, and now he is telling her to leave.

"I'm just trying to find someone and then I'll leave." Piper stops her retreat and holds her ground but not before looking back to see that she is standing on the edge of the dock.

"You'll leave when I say you leave." He is only a few inches from her face and if Piper wasn't thoroughly pissed off, the up-close smell of dead fish may have made her lose her lunch. He pulls out what looks to be a small knife which instantly causes alarms to go off, and she reaches for her own weapon.

"Do you want to die old man?" Piper says, grabbing his arm with the knife in it while putting the revolver against his forehead. She doesn't intimidate easy and was trying to be nice but now whoever this is crossed the line and is now backing down but a small smile appears.

"So you do know the "Captain", His grin shows missing teeth, and Piper is trying to figure out who he is talking about.

"What?" Piper is completely confused now. "Do you mean Nora?"

"I'm talking about the other outsider who arrived on a ship similar to this," He points to Piper's boat. "The same woman with an attitude just like yours," He says with a chuckle, motioning to Piper as she slowly lowers her weapon. "I'm talking about the person who did the Rite of Passage, killing the Mireluck queen, earning the Captain's hat and the feast to go along with it."

"So she did fight a Queen." Piper's stomach drops at hearing the news that what she said in the letter was true. But as much as hearing this distresses her, Piper figures that Nora must have made it out unscathed since they had a feast in her name.

"Aye, she did. _The_ queen she killed." He nods while he looks to be deep in thought, or as deep in thought as Piper imagines he can be. "Gained the respect of everyone here."

"And has helped everyone here." A voice comes from above. "So why don't you back off Glen."

"I'm backing, I'm backing." He slowly walks away and turns to head to an old chair. He sits with a groan, grabs a fishing pole, a bottle of whiskey, and tosses his line into the water while taking a drink.

"The others think I'm nuts for fishing this dock. But one day, the big one'll be mine. You'll see."

"Sure it will." Piper shakes her head while rolling her eyes, and is slowly becoming more annoyed with the people of Far Harbor. "Crazy bastard." She says under her breath.

"Names Glen."

"And I so don't care." The reporter says over her shoulder.

Looking up towards the voice that came from above, Piper sees an aging woman walking down the steps that lead to the docks, who has stopped short on a landing and is leaning on the rail.

"And you are?" Piper asks and begins to walk up the steps, a little agitated at how she's been received so far.

"Captain Avery, harbormen." She extends her hand to which Piper takes once she reaches the white-haired woman. "Sorry about Glenn though. Most around here are known for being stubborn, willful, and other...less flattering things."

"I see that." Piper rolls her eyes and falls into step with the Harbormen as they ascend to what seems to be Avery's office.

"So you are?"

"Piper Wright, I run the Commonwealths only paper, Publick Occurrences.

"And you're here to help the other outsider, Nora?"

"I am."

"I've heard about you, but haven't seen her in a while." Piper clenches her hand into a fist as her frustration level rises. Can anyone actually help her? "But I think The Mariner may know where she is."

"And I can find this Mariner...?" Piper can not fathom why she even had to ask, but apparently, this irradiated fog has affected the people who live here significantly.

"You can find her right here." A stern voice causes Piper to turn around and come face to face with another woman. She seems to be much older than Piper, but the reporter can only assume that her weathered skin has everything to do with her being out in the elements, especially the fog that she keeps hearing about. Wearing a green hat matching overalls, and a pair of familiar sunglasses, The Mariner looks every bit of what Piper can only assume a dock worker looked like. She could sense a certain tone in the other woman's voice but could not place it even after she looked at her. Was it jealousy?

"Piper Wright..."

"I know who you are."

Wow, she really does not like me, Piper thinks.

"Then you know why I am up here." Piper didn't want to sound desperate to a bunch of strangers but this conversation is getting her nowhere, and her last statement seems to have brought down the younger woman defenses.

"Come with me then."

The Mariner leads Piper out of Avery's office, past a few more fishermen and dockworkers who have stopped what they are doing in order to get a glimpse of the reporter. Past, a rowdy bar, and eventually to the end of the dock, where a small boat is waiting for them and The Mariner can sense her hesitation.

"If you want to see her again you best come with me. It's not too far but we have to take this." She points to the boat that is half the size and less sturdy than the one she just got off of. "Or you could swim."

Entering the boat Piper allows The Mariner to take her bag and help her in while something continues to nag at her.

"So, how did Nora help you?"

"Who said she did!" The woman lowers her head and immediately apologizes for her outburst. She goes on to tell Piper about her quest to find this "legendary monster" that had apparently caused many ships to wreck. That it turned out to be just a tiny Mireluck with glowing red eyes and how embarrassed she was until Nora told her to embellish her story. So she did, reluctantly, mainly because she had been worried that Nora would tell her newspaper reporter girlfriend, and ultimately everyone else.

"That's all I needed, was for you to tell everyone about this "monster" but I guess her word is good."

"It is." Piper nods in agreement, all while imagining Nora's face when they found this supposed creature that has "terrorized" so many people. "It just seems like you two are close."

"She loves you, you know." The statement clears any doubts that Piper may have had. She knows that Nora has an effect on everyone she meets but her heart only belongs to one.

"I do." Piper can feel her cheeks getting red but all of that goes away with The Mariner's next sentence.

"I just hope you can help her."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" The hairs on the back of her neck stand up as this stranger tells her what had happened since Nora arrived and the current situation she has found herself in.

"She apparently joined the Children of Atom but it nearly killed her in the process. That weird talking synth that she's always with tried to talk her out of it- even threatened to tell you, but nothing seemed to work. Now she's been in bed for the last week and the doctor thinks it’s radiation poisoning. She's been violently throwing up and even lost some hair."

"My God." Piper can't believe what she is hearing as The Mariner explains what she knows. From getting them to trust her, to Nora apparently drinking some irradiated water in order to see some diety, Piper listens while the other woman rows the small boat. Fortunately for Piper's nerves, the story and the trip were a short one.

"Now she wants to destroy the faction but can barely move," She says while pulling the boat on to the shore. "If she does this then it may help the island but I'm sure that there is a better option."

Barely hearing what was just said, and more worried about Nora's well being, Piper follows The Mariner up the hill to a run-down shack. Through a door, past Nick and someone else, Piper stops in her tracks when she finally lays eyes upon her lover. Lying in a ragged bed, that looks like it hasn't been cleaned in decades much less fit for a patient, Nora is on her back motionless. Her eyes slowly open upon hearing Piper enter and the reporter can’t help the gasp at what she is witnessing. Tears blur the reporter's vision when she realizes that Nora doesn't seem to recognize who she is looking at, and neither does Piper.

"Goodness, Blue, no..." Her hand instantly covers her mouth as tears fall freely down each cheek while looking over this new version of her lover. Eyes sunken in, patches of hair missing with skin as yellow as the sky during an irradiated storm, Nora looks nothing like the person who is the savior of the Commonwealth, the woman who left only a short time ago. No longer looking like the woman she loves, but more like a ghoul.

"We did everything we could think of," A voice says and Piper finally sees a man kneeling next to her bed who looks to be some sort of doctor. "But I think we are out of options." He looks to have just injected her with some sort of serum but her only concern is for the woman who has yet to acknowledge she's even there.

"What do you mean?" She has to choke back a sob and as much as she wants to move, her feet seem to be stuck firmly in place.

"Between the radiated water that she ingested, being around the Children of Atom in that submarine that they worship in, along with the irradiated fog that surrounds the entire island, it was only a matter of time."

"What does that mean?" Piper asks again. She is tired of the people of this islands half talk, she wants a fucking answer but wishes she doesn't hear what is said next.

"It means that the damage that was done is permanent so she'll either live out the rest of her days as a ghoul," The doctor's hesitation and his unwillingness to look at Piper is crippling, and only one thought runs through her mind- she was too late.

"Or she will never recover. I’m sorry.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two should be up soon.


	12. "Don't let me fade away" Wage War

The words“never recover”echo in her mind and Piper can’t believe what she is hearing.

“This isn’t right. This isn’t fair!” Piper yells as realization sets in and her worst fear is coming true.

She tries to focus on what to do next, but her mind keeps moving back to that alley outside Diamond City where Blue stepped on that mine. That alley where she watched the women she loves, die in her arms. The same women who needed a miracle to happen which came in the form of a doctor and his son. The same doctor and son who saved her then and taught Piper enough to save the women she loves now. So if she can get out of her trance, then she may be able to do something in order to save her, but will it be enough?

"Blue? It...It's Piper." Her voice breaks a little and she has to fight the tears that are threatening to fall. "I told ya I'd come up." She says with a smile, but when she gets no reply, Piper forces herself to push past her sadness and begin to think. Reaching into her bag, the reporter pulls out a bottle of pills and then hears Nick speak up for the first time.

“We've given her enough Radaway to put down a Brahmin, but it isn't working. The water from that spring must be directly from the core of an atom bomb." Someone who sounds like Nick says from behind her.

“It's not Radaway," Piper dumps a couple of pills out into her hand and tries to ignore how frail her lover is when she lifts her up to give them to her. "It's something from the Brotherhood of Steel, they made for her. It's X-111 compound."

Nick knew of this pill and the fact that is made specifically for her from Nora's blood and can cure radiation poisoning, but the detective doesn't seem too convinced that it will work.

"It has to work." Piper turns away from the doubting detective and back to her lover while taking all of her medication out of her bag that may help. "God, please let this work." She whispers to herself while trying not to let her doubts overcome all of her thoughts.

"We need to build a decontamination arch." She says while preparing a syringe with antibiotics.

"She started one," The old man who has been intently watching from the back corner of the room speaks up for the first time. "It's sitting out back, but it isn't finished. Kinda low on copper around here and the last shipment never made it since the boat sank. You wouldn't happen to have any in that bag would ya?."

That explains why contact was lost, Piper thinks.

"I do actually." Piper turns around with a smile after giving Blue some refreshing beverage the pills down. Kissing her on her forehead, Piper stands and hopes beyond anything that she's done enough to help.

"Show me where it is?" The reporter asks the old man and follows him outside. This new stranger seems friendly enough, albeit a little impatient. She can tell that whoever this is has witnessed a lot over the course of his life. Whether it's been a long life or not, Piper cannot tell. It seems like everyone is aging fast around here; whether it's from the fog or not remains to be seen.

Leading her around to the back of the shack, which has signs that someone began repairs, the old fisherman stops and points to what looks like the start of a decontamination chamber. Piper surmises that the person responsible is laying only a few feet away, and she is sure that there are signs of Nora helping people all over the island. 

"She started building it as soon as she got here," he begins while lighting a cigarette, which Piper does in turn, or tries to. "once she heard about the radiation in the fog."

"Need help?" He asks when she has trouble getting hers to light. Her nerves are shot, and her hands continue to shake.

"You've been helping her?" Piper asks after taking a long calming drag. Holding her breath, the reporter revels in the coolness of it in her lungs while waiting for an answer.

"I have," He says with a nod. "She needed a guide plus, she seemed like good people, always trying to do good for others... even helped me fight off some Anglers, Gulpers and such. Killed'em quick too. Set up those next." He motions to a long pole stuck in the ground that is emitting light from the top.

"And those are?"

"Fog condensers. They keep the fog away and the creatures. Got'em set up all over the island- around all of the settlements she's set up. She's helped a lot of people."

Hearing this brings a smile to Piper's face for the first time since she's arrived. Piper can tell that the condensers work since she can no longer hear her Geiger counter going off and no longer taste the radiation in the air. But it feels hollow when her thoughts move to her lover that is struggling for life only a few feet away. What would any of it mean if she dies and leaves all of her work unfinished? Would someone else take her place and continue or would things go back to the way they were? Would she take over for Blue; would she be able to or would the loss be too much?

"She's got some grit, I'll give her that." He continues after he inhales one last time then puts out the ember with his boot. "Can't say that about most folks I know."

"Me either," Piper agrees, then holds out her hand. "Names Piper."

"Longfellow," He takes her outstretched hand and shakes it. "How about we finish this thing, get her patched up, and grab a drink."

"Sounds like a plan."

After an hour and a few failed attempts, they finally get the arch to work. Praying that this will actually help Blue, Piper asks everyone to help carry the frail Pre- war relic to a wheelchair in order to role her through the arch.

"Ready Blue?" She whispers in Nora’s ear but shakes her head sadly when she receives no response.

Letting out a grunt while struggling to push the chair across the uneven ground, Piper closes her eyes as they move through the Arch in the hope that this will work. After it is over, the reporter watches her lover closely for some sign of a change, but there isn't one. Back inside, they eat in silence, or Piper does while they set up a feeding tube for the lone vault 111 survivor, and give her more antibiotics.

"Nat and Shaun send their love and said to say high," Piper says but gets no response. She can barely even look at her lover without tears falling so after she finishes they lay Nora back down, and Piper takes Longfellow up on that drink.

"She's strong," Longfellow says to the reporter after a few moments of silence once they get settled in at the bar. "she'll be okay."

The only reply that Piper can muster is a hopeful nod while she downs the rest of her drink. She had only taken a sip of her whiskey prior to anyone saying anything, while only being able to focus on the wall behind the bar. Even Mitch, the owner of the Last Plank, whose charismatic charm always put people in good spirits, didn't help her out of her funk. Even his uncle, who made everyone laugh while continuously complaining about being taken from his home, blaming his nephew and Nora, can't shake her from her bad mood.

"Everyone is hoping she pulls through." He had said to her once introductions were made.

Piper was appreciative of everyone's words, but then what? What would happen after she got better? Would Nora still want to destroy the Children of Atom, or would there be another way to deal with them? And even after all that was said and done, would she want to finally come home or stay and continue to help the people of Far Harbor?

That's even if she recovers, but all of these thoughts are beginning to hurt the reporter's head, and she'd much rather feel nothing right now. Motioning to the bartender, Piper asks to keep the drinks coming until she gets her wish and everything becomes numb.

"To Nora," Slurring her words and unable to focus, Piper holds up her latest drink in order to get everyone's attention. "I love that...woman," She points her glass in the direction of Longfellow's cabin, spilling part of her drink in the process.

"Did I ever tell you that Mitchy?" She asks, turning back to the bartender.

"About five times now." Mitch or someone who looks like Mitch says, and Piper swears he just rolled his eyes are her.

"That's not," Piper hiccups. "nice, Mitchy witchy... rhythms with little bitchy,"

"You're hilarious," he says shaking his head with another roll of his eyes. He then turns to Longfellow after he wipes down the bar. "I don't normally do this, but I think you should take her home,"

"Hey," Piper shouts. "I'm right here!"

"I know you are. Trust me everyone does, but I think you'll need your rest since the Captain will be awake tomorrow."

"How do you know? Are you a doctor," She can't figure out how all of these people had suddenly become medical experts when all everyone was saying is how worried they were for her. "Do you know all of her problems? Cause I tell ya, she's got plenty."

"I think that's enough," Someone speaks up from behind her. 

"Hey, Nicky," Piper throws her arm around the synths shoulder and pulls him into an embrace. “Rhymes with little di...”

”Okay, we get it you can rhyme.” He interrupts.

"You’re no fun. When d'ya get here?"

"Just now," the detective replies flatly. "Mitch is right, you need to sleep this off and be ready for tomorrow."

"No," She can't understand why everyone wants her to leave. The party is just getting started. "I don't wanna go. I wanna drink, and party with all of my new friends." She holds up her glass and spins around a little too quickly, wanting to cheers everyone in the bar, but she nearly falls on her ass in the process. "They taught me a bunch new songs. Wanna hear? Everybody gather'round, we gotta teach little Nicky our songs."

"It's just us, Piper."

Looking around the room, not believing Nick for a second. "What are you talking about Nick? This place is ha-pi-nin." She pokes him in the chest with each syllable, downs another shot and looks around the bar. The place was packed with people just a minute ago, and as soon as the room stops spinning is when she will prove it to her friend. But when everything comes into focus, or as clear as it possibly can be, is when she realizes that she is alone.

"Just a couple more minutes. I don't want to go back yet." She hasn't been this drunk in a long time. Not since her dad died and she needed to feel nothing then as well. It was just one night that she let herself go and she deserved it. And now is no different except the person she loves isn't dead, yet it sure feels like she has already lost Nora.

"You haven't seen each other in over two months, I would have thought you'd want to be by her side..."

"Well, you thought wrong," The reporter is tired of everyone telling her what she should do or how she should feel. "She didn't... didn't have to leave. She could have stayed with me...stayed with all of us. Or is there something wrong with me, with us? I thought we were a family."

"Nothing is wrong with any of you. She loves you, and you know why she had to come up here."

"I do," Piper is trying to point her finger at the synth detective but he is moving around too much, or maybe they are on another boat again, but either way the room needs to stop swaying. "It's because of you! All of you. You...Preston...Danse... Macready, and Cait. You couldn't handle any of your own shit. Whether it's this mission or any mission without her, and once again," Piper waves her hands around even more adamantly than normal then points her finger at the synth. "She had to save your ass."

"Are you finished?" Piper can hear the annoyance in Nick's voice but doesn't care.

"No, actually I am not. All of you are just a bunch of selfish assholes. All you do is complain about your problems. About someone you know who got kidnapped or how some other settlement needs her fucking help and I am sick of it. Sick of it all. She is my wife, mine,” She pounds her chest and downs another shot. “and you all need to leave us alone," she pauses long enough to take another shot then continues. "but you couldn’t, could you? Now she is dying and I can't do a fucking thing to help her, and it's your fault."

These are the last words said, or last words that she remembers someone saying until the morning comes way too quickly.

"Christ, kill me now." Along with the worst headache she's ever had, the reporter can’t seem to elude the morning sun that continues to find her eyes everywhere she turns.

”What did I drink?” The pillow she has covering her face smells awful and she isn't sure if it's making her stomach worse or not.

”The bar.” A synthesized voice answers flatly, which causes her to close her eyes tightly and rub the sides of her head to no avail.

“Please talk lower, or not at all.” Piper has had hangovers before and suffered as such but this is the worst that she's ever experienced so far.

”Nora?” The reporter sits up suddenly, ignoring her head as her pulse throbs behind her eyes while remembering where she is all of a sudden.

"Is still sleeping," Nick says and Piper can tell that he is upset with her, but her only care is how Blue is doing.

She looks around the room until she sees her lover sleeping semi-peacefully and some of the tension goes away. Her color has somewhat returned, and her skin is not as wrinkled as it was when she first arrived. She doesn't look like she did when she left the Commonwealth all those months ago but with a little bit of luck, none of the damage that Nora did to herself will be permanent.

Speaking of permanent damage, and after Piper breathes out a sigh of relief, the reporter immediately tenses up again when she thinks back to the night before and what she said. Turning her attention from her lover to her friend, Piper hopes that she can talk her way out of this without any permanent hard feelings.

Staring out of the front door smoking, Nick hasn't said a word in the past few moments, and the reporter doubts that he has even moved all night. She is grateful and wants to say as much, but Nick gets up to leave.

"No, wait, please don't go. Just hear me out," When he stops at the doorway and nods his head is when she takes her queue to speak quickly. "I know I said some shitty things last night. Things that should not have been said and I'm sorry. To you most of all. You’re my oldest friend, the only one who helped us when we arrived at Diamond City, and you didn’t deserve what I said to you. I'm just tired of seeing her like that you know? Lying in a bed, recouping from some injury or near death experience. I'm tired of wondering if the next time I see her like this will be the last time, " Piper wipes away the moisture that has formed around her eyes, swallows hard and continues. "You've been there since the beginning, and if it weren't for you, then Nora probably would have never been able to find Shaun. You're the reason that she even has her son..."

"But you were right," his words catch her off guard, and she isn't quite sure what to say so she decides to sit back an listen.

"Everything you said last night was correct, and if I were in your shoes and saw her lying there like she was after all that time apart I'd probably have said the same thing if not worse."

"Nick, she agreed to do this."

"Only because I kept on her about it. I brought it up right before we went to the Institute and again after we were done. I kept on about how Kenji didn't know what to do about trying to find his daughter and knew she wouldn't say no to finding a missing child. I was even happy for a moment when she agreed to go so quickly after we got back. Never thinking for a moment that she was trying to get away from Shaun. I was selfish. I think we all have been since she came into our lives. She was willing to help anyone and everyone so I think asking her became second nature. And I know that helping one another is a something that we all have to do to survive but we've relied on her too much. So yeah, what you said hurt," he says with a shrug of his shoulders. "but it doesn't mean it isn't any less true. You two deserve to be left alone and live your lives."

Standing, Piper ignores the throbbing pain in her head, nausea, and fatigued muscles so she can throw her arms around her friend's neck, pulling him into a tight embrace. His words were exactly what she wanted to hear. What she needed to hear. The Commonwealth wasn't perfect, but Nora had spent the better part of the past year turning it into a safe place for people to live in and nearly sacrificing herself in the process.

"I want her home, Nick. Nothing else, just home." Feeling the synths head nod in her shoulder releases a flood of emotions. Relief, and happiness all mixed together and for the first time in a long time, Piper can see their future without a mission to go on or a settlement to help. To finally be a family and she wouldn't want it any other way.

From the bed in the corner of the old shack, Nora's eyes slowly open to see her lover and Nick in an embrace. She can tell that something is different, better, and it probably has everything to do with the woman she loves. A woman who never ceases to amaze her. A woman who made good on her promise to come up and rescue her if she was gone for too long. A woman who she will need to beg for forgiveness from since she lied to her about the real reason why she came up here.

Yes, part of it was to rescue Kenji's daughter, but she would have made something up since she had been going stir crazy without a settlement to help or an enemy to fight.  
She had become so reliant on people relying on her that it became second nature but that soon stopped as the Commonwealth became safer and needed her less and less.

Now, the woman she loves has put herself at risk again for Nora and it's all because of selfish reasons. Her heart breaks a little while she listens to Piper plead to the synth for her to come home and at that moment the Lone Vault survivor makes the decision to put a stop to everything and focus on family and nothing else. They were worth it, and she needed to take heed to the words she said to Piper about family and only having a short time with them. Nora was given a second chance to have a family when most can only hope to get one shot, so screwing this up because she wants to be needed is not an option.

So she will stay here for a few more days. Stay until she can walk on her own, so she and Piper can confront the Children of Atom and come to some sort of agreement. Stay and convince Kasumi that her parents miss her and that her home is back with them whether she is an actual synth or not. Stay just long enough to do all of this, plus create more settlements, but not before finally being able to be with one another, alone and uninterrupted.

“I'm sorry about all of this,” Nora says again while running her fingers through Piper's hair, enjoying the much-needed closeness. It took about a week but Blue was finally able to move around without assistance, but it only took a few hours alone with Piper in her room above the Last Plank to feel completely normal.

“We've been over this,” Piper says while looking into her lover's eyes. “you've apologized multiple times already.” Piper smiles while thinking about the past few hours, and how she has missed them being together.

“I don’t want to lose your trust is all. Lose you period.”

”How do you figure you ever did, or ever would?”

“Piper, I came up here...”

”You came up here to help find a child. You came up here because a family was desperate. You came up here,” Piper lifts Blues chin so their eyes meet after Nora looks away, not truly believing what Piper was saying. “because we all relied on you so much that you depended on someone needing you.” Now it was Piper's turn to look away as a flood of emotions overtakes her. How many times did she nearly die because someone else needed her to go on a mission?

“I will admit that in the beginning that all of the attention I was getting was a bit overwhelming. People needing help and asking me- a complete stranger- it was crazy. And yeah,” Nora smiles and caresses Piper's cheek. “after a while, I kind of depended on everyone asking me for things because it made me forget where I was. Made me forget that my old life was gone and I was forced to start over. I’m not sure when, but it began to feel like I had to be that person everyone relied on or be forgotten, and it’s not fair to you. Because out of all it-everyone who ever asked me for help-you, never, did.” Nora kisses her lovers lips in between the last few words.

“You deserve better.”

The more Nora thought about it, the more she realized that out of everyone that she’s ever met that the only thing that the reporter had ever asked for was a story and friendly advice about what she should do about her sister becoming like her. It’s why she loves Piper so much, she’s selfless, and it’s why Blue feels as guilty as she does. Piper never once asked her for anything except to tell the Commonwealth about Nora’s story and to love one another and raise a family. So why does Nora want to run away from her second chance?

”You gave me everything I ever wanted and more.” Pipers words break Nora out of her thoughts, and she can tell that Piper isn’t mad, sees the understanding, but wants her to listen. “So you make me a promise that we stay together as a family and only go on missions together if everyone else is busy,” Piper smiles when she receives a nod and continues. “We all deserve to be a family, we deserve each other, and like it or not Mrs. Nora Blue-Wright, you’re stuck with me because I deserve you.”

X

X

X

X

"Still can't get over the fact that Nick has a brother," Piper says while shaking her head in disbelief. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the other synth when she met him as he looked to be pieced together with old synth parts, and she wondered how many he had to kill in order to keep himself alive.

"Yeah, it took us a while to get used to it too."

"He looks like some creature someone created in a lab that you read about in one of those magazines."

"Be nice." Nora shushes her.

"I am being nice."

She began to wonder how long until they have to do that with Nick, but she pushed past those thoughts and wondered about other things like, whether or not they could trust Dima not to annihilate the island once they leave or stick to the plan in general. With everything that Blue had told her about Dima and his secrets that he felt guilty about, Piper worried that he'd admit to everyone what he did to Avery and now the leader of the Children of Atom. 

"Sucks that I can't turn this into a story though."

"I know," Blue wraps an arm around her shoulder and kisses her cheek. "but it's only for a short time. We just have to wait until Desdemona gets in contact with Dima and they begin sending synths up here and then you can write about it."

"Yeah, but it still has to be in code," Piper wines and Nora pulls her head onto her shoulder, rubbing her back.

"And you know why." Nora tries to soothe her by sounding more like a mother than a wife but it doesn't help.

"Well, I still don't have to like it." But Piper does know, and as annoying as it was not to say anything about this she knew what the consequences could be. There are still too many people who believe that all synths are Institute spies and shoot on sight, so knowledge of a supply line that allows them to come to this sanctuary could be dangerous to not only the synths but to Piper and her family as well.

"I just hope we can trust Travis with this."

"So do I, but I think he should be okay." Using the radio host, who at one time had no confidence at all, to include coded phrases in between songs was risky, but Nora didn't want to rely solely on the paper to pass along messages. It meant her having to wander the Commonwealth, handing out her newspaper. At least with the radio transmission, the synths could tune into the frequency and listen without anyone else hearing.

"I'll definitely be back up soon," Nick says while walking back to the two women. "and expect me to be bringing up more synths."

"I'm looking forward to it brother," Dima shakes Nick's hand and looks at Nora and smiles in appreciation. It took a little while but Nora was able to convince her synth detective friend not to push family away. "and the more synths, the better." 

"Yeah, so you can use them for spare parts," Piper says under her breath which causes Nora's eyes to go wide, reach out her hand to thank Dima, all while praying that he did hear her big-mouthed wife.

"Thank you for all of your help." 

"Yeah, thanks." Piper finally offers her hand after getting a look from Nora that says be polite, but the reporter was more concerned with leaving and finally being home.

"Please, come back anytime. You've both helped more than you know."

The ride back on the small boat was nothing like it was coming up to the island. Piper had her lover with her and she was able to finally feel at ease while Blue held onto her as they looked out at the vast ocean.

"Do you think, that anyone will find out about Avery or Tektus?"

"I doubt it but there's always that chance," Nora says and wraps her arms around the reporters waste a little tighter.

"And Kasumi?"

"She'll be okay, she just wanted to come home on her own I guess, help Dima set up for the new arrivals. Her parents should understand." Nora finishes with a kiss on the cheek, then her neck, making her way to the reporter's ear. "I missed you so much."

"Missed you too," Piper closes her eyes and leans her head back while Nora kisses along her jawline all while gentle hands run up and down her body. "Missed this." Piper turns around in her lover's arms and fiercely kisses Blue like it was the first time. Pushing Blue against the railing, the reporter begins to remove her lover's clothes while her need builds. They had been together a few nights ago but Piper had fantasized about this on the way up here, and she wants to lose herself in that fantasy when she feels the Lone Vault survivor pressed up against her; much to Nicks dismay.

"You do know that I'm right here?"

"God, yes."

"Not really the response I was looking for. Probably should have waited with Kasumi." Nick says as he shields his eyes.

"I need you."

"And you're naked. Really starting to envy Dima with the whole memory wipe thing." 

"Take me, Nora!"

"I'll just wait on the back of the boat," He says, wishing that it was bigger.

"More,"

"Removing my eyes,"

"I love you so much, Piper,"

"And my ears,"

"Feels so good,"

"Maybe I can swim,"

 

 


	13. “I feel like I have blood on my hands” John Robert Oppenheimer

Piper!" An unanswered scream is heard by all in Diamond City, but most are too busy to notice.

"Piper!" This time the voice is louder and breaks from the strain, but once again it is ignored as everyone else finds themselves dealing with the fallout of the past few moments.

"Has anyone seen Piper Wright?" It's a desperate plea from Nora as she looks over the citizens of Diamond City that are strewn about, making up the injured and dead. 

"Please god..." Her unsuccessful search for her loved one, along with the recent firefight has taken its toll on the leader of the Minutemen. Climbing over bodies and debris while grabbing onto anything to support herself is nearly too much to deal with, and when she finally feels something solid that she can lean against, Nora sits for a moment to catch her breath. Leaning her head back onto the wall behind her, Nora squeezes her eyes shut to try and focus on what just happened and drown out the screams for help from the injured and the desperate.

Everything happened so fast that she barely had time to think. One minute there was a meeting held at the bleachers of the old ballpark where every settlement leader came to discuss the future of the Commonwealth. The next thing anyone knew a grenade was lobbed into the crowd, followed by erupting gunfire. The explosion that followed sent bodies flying along with screams of agony, and it took Nora as well as all of the other guards a moment to realize what was happening. Multiple shots rang out from all around the crowd and all of those who weren't wounded scrambled for cover.

It turned into a massacre with every settlement being represented to hear concerns or ideas over the plans for the New Commonwealth. She and Piper had worked tirelessly over the last few months and had come up with what they thought would be the best possible solution to making Boston, not only great but safe again. This was supposed to be her time to lead as not just the mayor of Diamond City but the entire Commonwealth and make their home how it was before the bombs dropped. But now with this most recent tragedy that has claimed the lives of countless people all she can think about is her missing lover and the carnage that has happened that she will be judged by for the rest of her days.

"Piper Wright!" She yells one last time after harshly wiping her eyes and getting up to continue her search.

The scene that is unfolding in front of her is something that she thought was over after she went after the Raider and Gunners, but people dressed as them just attacked them screaming for revenge. Bodies are everywhere, stores and homes, destroyed, and small fires were set all over the city. This was supposed to a time of peace and rebuilding, and the Lone Vault 111 survivor had done everything in her power to make her city great again by getting rid of those that went against what she was doing. She thought that she had done enough, but she was wrong.

"Goddammit," she yells, but it is proving fruitless. "Piper, please be okay." She stands and heads to the Diamond City doctor's office where she finds him already swamped. Before he can ask if he had seen Piper, he tells her to either help or move out of the way. She finds herself forced to one side when someone carries another wounded settler into the office, and this is the first person she recognizes.

"Blake?" Her blood turns to ice, and she can barely move. He was one of the first people she helped when she woke up from the vault. They had sent her to look for a missing heirloom from his deceased daughter that was killed by a Raider and were grateful to her when she found it. They were the first settlement to join the Minutemen and get a defense to protect their farm from further attacks but now he is clinging to life, and Nora can’t think of a single thing to do.

"Hey! Don't just stand there; he needs help." Someone yells at her, and she blinks a few times while waking up from her internal thoughts. "Keep pressure on his wound until I get over there!"

Taking off her jacket, she presses down on the man's chest wound that won't stop bleeding.

"Hold on Blake, help is coming" She isn't sure who she is trying to convince, but the Abernathy farm owner is slowly fading. "I need a Stim-pak now,” she yells out, but no one answers her. “Anyone...please.” Looking around the room, Nora can tell that no one is paying attention since they have their own wounded to take care of. She looks down at the dying man as tears begin to fall when he looks into her eyes and she sees one thing; fear.

"Please help me!" His eyes go wide, pupils dilating, as his breathing becomes labored and the hand he had wrapped around her arm for support losses its grip.

"Dammit, no! I need..." The hiss of a Stim-pak interrupts her as a needle is injected into his arm. She isn't sure who this is but is grateful to the woman who is helping in the clinic. She saved his life, and as Mr. Abernathy sits up, he nods his head and gives his thanks to them both.

"Jesus, thank you," Whoever Blake's savior is just nods, smiles, and moves to help another person but not before Nora catches her arm before she can leave. 

"Have you seen Piper Wright?"

"I'm sorry, but no. I think there is another makeshift clinic in the bar. She might be there." Nora thanks this person who she doesn't recognize, checks on Blake one last time, and heads for the Dugout Inn, but has no luck there either. She is forced to defuse another situation as Vadim is irate that they are using his bar as a hospital and the rooms for a morgue.

"I'll never be able to rent those rooms again!" He had yelled to which Blue casually informed him that if he didn’t help, then he will need medical attention as well. He cursed at her in Russian and reluctantly made his way over to help where he could, so Nora decided to continue her search.

"Piper Wright," the panic has dyed down a little more when she returns to the middle of Diamond City and most of the screaming from the wounded along with it. Stim- paks are being administered as quickly as possible, and they are lucky to have such a medical miracle. She silently thanks whoever she can that she listened to Piper and brought a stockpile of medical supplies and told Nat and Shaun to start handing out to whoever needed them. She is about to yell for the two of them when they both turn the corner and run to her open arms.

"Have you found her yet?" Nat is the first to speak. Both her and Shaun are shaking from this ordeal, and Nora is thankful that they stayed behind at Home Plate before the shooting happened.

"Not yet," Blue says to them while trying to be as reassuring as possible. "Your sister is strong; she'll turn up." Not sure if she is trying to convince herself or the children, Nora kisses them both and tells them to go back to the house.

"But we want to help find Piper."

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you. If something were to happen to you and it was my fault, then your sister would never forgive me. You've both done enough so please go home and lock the door. Let no one in.”

Walking the children back to their home, Nora leans down and kisses them both one last time before heading out but not before Shaun pulls her aside.

”You okay mom?”

”Yeah Shaun," She forces a smile and can tell that her son can see right through her. "but I’ll be better when I find her.”

”She’ll turn up. She’s strong.”

With those words of encouragement, Nora continues, but there aren’t many places left for her to look. Thoughts of her being taken again by the Raiders and them hurting Piper run wild through her mind, and she stops to lean on a post to collect herself. Running her hands through her hair and down over her eyes a sob escapes and she sinks to her knees. Normally not one to show emotion in public, Nora doesn’t care who sees her, Piper is her life. She is trying to stop the tears from falling, but her thoughts are too vivid to stop her sobbing until someone licks her face.

”The fuck?” She instantly forgets her sad thoughts and becomes irritated until she sees who it is “Dogmeat!” Her emotions get the better of her again after finding her first companion alive. “So glad to see you boy.”

“You haven’t seen Piper have you?” He barks after she asks, then wags his tail and spins around to walk away.

”Where ya going?”

Barking two more times, he picks up his pace, and Nora scrambles to follow him. He’d been her most loyal and trustworthy companion since she woke up. He led her to find Kellogg with just the smell of an old cigar to guide him, so she’s not going to stop following him now. They head into the middle of Diamond City to where Nicks office is, and Nora finally sees a familiar face, but not the one she expected.

”You.” She thought she’d never see the boy and his father who saved her from that landmine but here he is standing in front of her taking care of a wounded patient outside of Nicks office.

“I’m glad to see you’re up and about.” The ghoul boy says to her. “My father will be pleased as well, but I don't think you’re here for a reunion.” 

“Piper?” 

“Inside. She’s alive, but I must warn you she’s  injured pretty badly.” 

Her stomach drops upon hearing this, and she slowly makes her way to Nick's front door. Leaning her head against the old piece of wood, she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and tries to ready herself for what is on the other side. Slowly, she pushes the door open to reveal Nick, Ellie, and the doctor who saved her life all those months ago. It seems like it was just the other day that she and Piper were walking through that alleyway while she playfully flirted with the reporter. Deliberately wearing the Grognak outfit, knowing it was Piper's favorite as she always seemed to glance at her a little longer whenever she wore it.

Nora had planned the entire thing; except for the bomb. The next thing she remembered was waking up in Piper's bed and loving every minute as she took care of her. They told each other they loved one another during that time, and it's been amazing ever since but now all Nora wants to do is run away and not see what has happened to her lover since it will make all of her horrors that are running through her mind a reality.

"Piper?"

"She's on the table. Nick brought her in," The doctor says to her and motions to a makeshift hospital bed in the middle of the room.

"Is she?.." She can't finish her sentence. It's too upsetting to think about.

"She is stable, but her injuries are severe."

Upon hearing this Nora moves to the table she is lying on and sees harsh bruises covering the one side of her face but other than that she looks to be okay. She leans down and gently kisses Piper's lips, thanks God that she is alive, and turns to face the doctor.

"She suffered head trauma," the doctor begins before she can even ask but Nick speaks up to explain a little more.

"She was protecting some children who had gotten caught up in the gunfire. She was holding them off pretty well until someone knocked her over the head. I was just lucky enough to be nearby and took care of her attacker."

A smile appears even with everything that has happened. Piper protecting someone seems to be the norm. It's who she is as a person; always thinking of others who can't protect themselves.

"Thank you, Nick, and you." She extends her hand to the doctor but he shakes his head, and her smile disappears.

"She isn't out of the woods yet," His eyes are full of sorrow, and it causes her fears to resurface. "Stim-Paks can heal just about any injury, but brain injuries are something different. She needs to rest to recover, so I put her into a coma. I know you are from before the bombs fell and may remember doctors doing this..." 

She stops listening after she hears the word 'coma'. She understands that this is just the body trying to heal itself but there are many stories in which the patient never wakes up. Turning back to look down at her resting lover, Nora runs her hand down Pipers injured cheek and winces a little. She'd love to make a joke right now about how hard her head is but tears fall instead, and she leans down to whisper in her lover's ear.

"You need to come back to me- to us. Okay? There are too many people counting on you to keep me in line." She is trying to make light of the situation and think positively but seeing her lover like this, eyes closed, chest rising and falling with each short breath, knowing she isn’t going to wake up, causes her to think of the worst possible outcome.

"You fight this, okay?" Her eyes fill with tears, and she tells Piper one last time that she loves her. She needs to leave and go after whoever did this, and as she turns around, she sees two people have arrived that can help her do that.

"We got here as soon as we heard. Is she okay?" Cait asks carefully. She can see the hatred flowing across Nora's features and she watches as the leader of the Minuteman protectively stands in front of her lover, even around friends.

"She will be." Nora's answers are only short when she is upset, and right now the former Raider isn't sure her being here is making this worse. Sure she cut all ties with the group, but it doesn't mean that she shares some of the blame for this latest incident. Cait can still remember how Nora acted when the Raiders kidnapped Piper, and it wasn't a sight she ever wanted to deal with again. Nora turned into something else and did things that were worse than any group she had ever been with. But now, as Piper looks to be clinging to life, Cait can only imagine what is to come.

"What do you two know?" The question doesn't sound like an accusation, but she and Macready share a look and know to tread carefully with their answer.

"Nothing until we got here," MacCready begins, and Cait is happy that he is with her at this moment. He had his own ties to the Gunners and Nora helped him get away from them as well, so it’s no wonder that they've become friends. "I guess Diamond City police arrested one of the attackers and interrogated him. He was so hoped up on Jet that he was barely coherent but said something about Nuka- world..."

"Nuka- World, really?" Nora scoffs. She clearly isn't speaking to anyone in the room, so they all stay quiet and let her go over her thoughts. After a few moments, Cait notices everyone looking to one another to see who will be the first to speak when Nora pushes off of the table she was leaning on and walks past herself and Macready.

"You two are coming with me. I need you to get Danse, power armor, and supplies and meet me back here tomorrow."

"Where are we headed?" Cait knows the answer but wants to be sure since Nora is acting so sporadic.

"An amusement park. Where we finish this." Cait breathes a small sigh of relief that Nora's anger isn't aimed at her and as much as she wants to question her choice in bringing only four people instead of a small army, she knows to keep quiet and let Nora's plan fall into place. She just hopes that after everything is said and done that it will be worth their sacrifice and Piper will be okay.

X

X

X

X

"We all have something pray for today..." Pastor Clements says to his congregation while Nora sits on the porch of the Publick Occurrences building. It's her normal spot when listening to the pastor give his sermon even though she wants to be as far away from everyone as she can. Everything that happened is her fault and its only been twelve hours since the attack and as the bigger than usual crowd listens to Clements speak about love and loss, stares full of blame and hatred are aimed towards her. 

"We must pray for those who are still with us today. Those who are injured that they may heal...and those that helped us get through that horrible attack..."

_"Yeah, that I caused."_ Nora thinks to herself while she rests her head in her hands and thinks about what she is about to do.

"This has always been an open form of worship so whoever you pray to, do so now so that they may hear your hardships and answer your pleas for help."

Not being religious, she began to find herself sitting here, normally with Nat, just listening, and it always made them feel a little bit better about their situation, no matter how bad it was, but not now.

"Let us pray."

It’s all that she can do at the moment, so she prays for the people left alive. Those that are still recovering as well as all of her friends and family who have been apart of this life that she has been thrown into. To Nat and Shaun for being her rock and to Nick who always seems to be there for all of them as well as Dogmeat who helped her find Piper; she prays. The doctor and his son who saved her life and hopefully has saved Piper’s as well so that she may see her lover's beautiful smile and Nat can have her sister back; she prays. Then, lastly to those who are coming with her to kill the fuckers who took the lives of so many good people and nearly took Piper's; she prays. She prays that this is the end for them and those that she holds most dear will never have to live in fear for their lives ever again.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for your continued support. As you can tell Nuka- World is next.


End file.
